Japanese tourists interested in Bulgaria's Veliko Turnovo

The dream customers of every hotel owner in the world — Japanese tourists — are flocking to Veliko Turnovo.

This finding was made at the second anniversary of the National Association of Spa and Wellness Tourism (NSAWT) held in Veliko Turnovo this week. Addressing participants in the event, Veliko Turnovo mayor Roumen Rashev said: “In the past several months, our city has been enjoying a real invasion of Japanese tourists”.

One of the reasons for that influx might be the immense popularity of Bulgaria’s Kaloyan Mahlyanov, known as Kotooshu in Japan. Mahlyanov is one of the top sumo wrestling stars in Japan, where he is a beloved star of the sport. “Japanese tourists want to see the motherland of Kotooshu and Veliko Turnovo has become their top destination in Bulgaria,” Rashev said. “Next in line were British and US tourists who usually visit Veliko Turnovo as part of their European tours.”

In addition, Rashev forecasted a 30 per cent increase in the number of tourists visiting the city by the end of the year. In the first nine months of 2006, the number of tourists had increased with 20 per cent compared to the same period in 2005, he said. Veliko Turnovo has developed into one of the leading destinations for foreign tourists for a few simple reasons. First, the city is one of the medieval centres of Bulgaria, featuring the magnificent and outstanding Tsarevets fortress complex.

Veliko Turnovo was the capital of the second Bulgarian state and Tsarevets fortress was the most important citadel in Bulgaria, often compared with Rome and Constantinople in magnificence. In 1393, the stronghold was besieged by Ottoman forces for three months before finally being conquered and burnt down, marking the fall of the Bulgarian state. This historic heritage today attracts attention from both Bulgarian and foreign tourists. The second reason is the climate. The mild weather, which continues throughout the whole year, has made Veliko Turnovo and the areas around it a suitable place for relaxation. “The city enjoys a long tourist season with hotels empty only for a month throughout the whole year,” Rashev said.

Many tourists come for culture, sport, spa and wellness tourism. Proof of the development of culture tourism in Veliko Turnovo is the 36th World Congress of the Council for Organising of International Folk Festivals. The Congress is held in the city between October 27 and November 4. This event alone has brought more than 500 international guests to the city. As for spa tourism, Veliko Turnovo offers a lot of modern facilities which, together with the climate and beautiful surroundings, attract thousands of tourists every year, according to Stanimir Stankov, chairman of NSAWT.

“Bulgaria has all it takes to become the top spa destination in South East Europe,” Stankov said. “There is a great potential in Bulgaria in attracting fans of spa and wellness tourism from Japan, the US, Middle East and Europe,” Stankov said. For example, the Best Western Veliko Turnovo Premier hotel has welcomed more than 11 000 tourists over the past year. About 7000 were Bulgarians. Most of the foreign guests came from Israel, France, Italy, the UK, Japan and the US.

A boomer for the hotel were Japanese tourists. The projections for the next year are that their number will double. It seems that spa tourism might be the future for Veliko Turnovo and Bulgaria. Spa tourism could generate 1.5 billion euro worth of revenues annually, according to independent analysts. At present, close to 500 mineral water springs in Bulgaria are suitable for health and beauty procedures. However only 70 to 80 of them are used, which shows the big potential of spa and wellness activities in the country.



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