Bulgaria Top For Property Investment

Article Date : 06 January 2006

Property investors have once again been alerted to the Bulgarian market with new figures revealing that there was a steep incline in the country's marketability in 2005. With the prospect of the Winter Olympics arriving in Sofia in 2012 and full EU membership scheduled for January 2007, Bulgaria has become one of Europe's fastest-growing markets with property investors increasingly prepared to take advantage of an anticipated boom in the coming years. According to the Sofia Echo, statistics from the government show that a total of 4,360,239 foreign tourists visited Bulgaria between January and October this year, which reflects a 5.79 per cent increase year-on-year. Of particular interest to UK property investors is the fact that the number of UK tourists visiting Bulgaria in this period was 356,421, which is up 36.10 per cent year-on-year. The number of Turkish holidaymakers increased even further by 39.10 per cent to 225,830 while there was a 17.60 per cent increase in Russian tourists. With ski resorts such as Bansko, Pamporovo and Borovets all reporting extremely strong business and beach resorts enjoying a similarly profitable year, property investors are showing a particular interest in the possibilities of buy-to-let investments, as Europeans become increasingly likely to view Bulgaria as not only an apposite holiday destination but also a suitable place to live. Official statistics from the Agency on Tourism have in fact indicated that foreign tourists spent €1.661 billion in Bulgaria from January to September 2005. This represents an increase of around ten per cent on 2004 as the country continues to build on its reputation as an attractive holiday resort in the summer and winter months. Even more exciting for prospective developers were statistics from the Culture and Tourism Ministry in August this year. It was revealed that nearly 100 per cent of the bed capacity in Bulgaria's major sea resorts had been booked, as investors had so far failed to keep pace with the dramatic increase in interest. It is believed that Bulgaria's constantly improving ski resorts have been instrumental in the recent influx of foreign visitors and this has led many developers to focus their investments around these areas. James Berry, marketing manager for ski and snowboarding travel insurance company Complete Ski has said Bulgaria is now comparable with alternative resorts in the Alps. "The investment in Bulgaria over recent years has been significant and it's really taking off as a major ski resort. This season it really seems to be competing with the more traditional resorts such as those in France, Italy, Austria or Switzerland," said Mr Berry. Throughout 2004, Bulgarian holiday resorts welcomed over 4.1 million tourists, who spent €1.8 billion. With a significant increase already registered in 2005, it appears that 2006 will see extensive property investment in the country as people begin to maximise its potential with buy-to-let and other commercial property ventures. News Article from www.assetz.co.uk

Bulgaria Top For Property Investment

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