Bulgarian Tourism May Benefit from the Crisis

[Suzanne]

Mr. Hans Van Der Ley was one of the fifteen top world bankers who watched the FIS Ski World Cup starts in the mountain resort of Bansko. Mr. Ley is a representative of one of the branches of the Royal Bank of Scotland in the Netherlands. In an exclusive interview with the Standart, Mr. Van Der Ley shared his impressions of Bankso and discussed the latest developments of the world financial crisis
- Mr. Van Der Ley, you’ve visited Bansko before. What are your impressions of the resort now?
- Many hotels that were still under construction when I first visited Bankso have already opened doors. However, no matter how much I like the old-style architecture of the town, I understand that it is impossible to preserve it fully. I sincerely hope that the town will not be expanding further!
- Do you think that Bansko, with its specific architecture and atmosphere, has a special appeal to the Western tourists?
- Resorts such as Bansko are especially appealing to the elderly West Europeans. Naturally, people come to Bansko in winter to ski, but in the summer the visitors seek a somehow different experience. The time has come for the local authorities to take a decision on the town’s future – I think that, given a good development strategy, Bansko could become a magnet to many young tourists from Turkey and Western Europe.
- What do you think about the organization of the competition?
- It was perfect and the thousands of happy people prove that. The video walls allowed everyone to watch the competition from any point. I am sure next year during the World Cup, here in Bansko, everything will be excellent again.
- In your opinion, has the global crisis reached the bottom and how does the crisis affect tourism?
- For sure at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 the crisis could be noticed in tourism because a lot of people stayed at home. But from a personal point of view I can say that everyone in my family would like to travel again. Bulgaria could profit from that development of the situation. English holidaymakers are a good example, because they used to travel to Spain and now they turn to Turkey and your country.

Plamen Valkov
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