Sunny Beach Shines Brighter than Mallorca for Germans
Bulgaria's largest summer resort Sunny Beach, which has recently made headlines with binging sprees, alcohol-related accidents, crime and prostitution, has ousted Mallorca in the hearts of young Germans. "The German tourists now prefer to spend their summer holidays in Sunny Beach rather than in Mallorca," says a report of the German ARD. Data shows that Germans, primarily students, who have come to Bulgaria for their proms, account for 70-80% of the tourists in the resort. The prices as low as EUR 300 per week for an all inclusive package play an important part in their decision where to spend their money and enjoy the summer sun and the sea. Germany has traditionally been the primary market for visitors to Bulgaria's Black Sea coast. About half a million Germans come here every year and they are the only one that can fill up hotel vacancies from May till October. German visitors are the largest single country represented within the figure of EU visitors, followed by the UK and Greece. German tourists have always liked Bulgaria because it offers good value in terms of food prices and accommodation expenses and last but not least has available package tours. But if a few years ago the German tourists came to Bulgaria with their families, enjoyed the classic combination of hotel, beach and sea, behaved relatively well and were active participants in all the recreational activities on offer, now they are primarily young people on a binging spree. In fact this is the latest trend in Bulgaria's coastal tourism traditions, which have been invariably linked to the German clients. The first charter flights from Western Germany to Bulgaria's Black Sea coast were launched as early as 1963, times when Turkey, Egypt and many other destinations were not even on the tourist map. Even in 1999, which was very difficult for the tourism sector because of NATO air strikes over Serbia, it was only Germany which marked a 5% growth in the number of tourists to Bulgaria's resorts on the Black Sea coast.
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