Projects across various sectors of Bulgarias property market are being put on hold, the main reason being the global economic crisis.The effect is not universal and some major transactions have gone ahead, including the 101.5 million euro change of hands of City Center Sofia, while new retail projects in Bulgarias smaller cities continue to be announced.

Orchid Developments, an international property developer focusing on Bulgaria, said on November 17 that it sold Yavor hotel in the Black Sea resort of Zlatni Pyassutsi for 9.9 million euro.The developer had said in September in its interim results that it expected the sale of Yavor Zlatni AD, the subsidiary company taht owns the hotel, to complete in October 2008.

Resort operator Albena, which owns the hotels, retail outlets and infrastructure in the Black Sea resort of the same name, may keep half of the rooms locked next summer to avoid operating them at a loss, Albena executive director Krassimir Stanev said.

The main investor in the new Super Borovets mega ski resort is to apply for an EMAS EcoManagement and Audit Scheme eco certificate which guarantees that all work, products and services will be done in accordance with the highest European eco standards. So far, Super Borovets is still only on the drawing board, as construction is yet to be given the goahead.

Bulgarian resort operator Albena AD has put up for sale its upscale holiday complex in Byalata Lagouna White Lagoon area, on Bulgarias northern Black Sea coast.

Two funds listed on the alternative investment market AIM of the London Stock Exchange said they would slash real estate investments in Bulgaria because of the ongoing financial crisis. Black Sea Property Fund gave up its Evergreen gated complex that it planned to build in the country, while Bulgarian Land Development BLD has slashed the number of apartments it agreed last year to buy in the Paradiso Verde 2 complex in the Bansko mountain resort.

Bulgarias holiday property market was saturated and big projects found no buyers because they were unprofitable, the managing director of Foros real estate agency Dobromir Ganev has said. Local company Terra Trans Consult has suspended a 200 million euro holiday village project in Balchik due to the severe economic conditions, the towns mayor Nikolai Angelov said. The companys Balchik Paradise complex was to deliver houses, a hotel, a spa centre, a conference hall and a cinema hall.

The global financial crunch has had its effect in the tourist resort town of Pamporovo, Bulgaria. The flats available in the numerous apartment estates recently built in the town have declined sharply in value, according to Yavlena GEOS, a real estate agency based in Smolyan, quoted by website stroitelstvo.bg. The first decline in value was observed in the hotelapartment complexes, especially in the cases where there is a larger loan taken out for their construction.

The snowballing turmoil that has frozen the global financial markets is breathing ice into Bulgarias winter resorts as well, tourism sector representatives said. It was only last year that Bulgarias top mountain resorts of Bansko and Borovets, near Sofia, and Pamporovo, in the south, enjoyed doubledigit growths in tourist numbers. But the crisis dampened new hopes and had the sector bracing up for lower levels. Hotels and apartment complexes mushrooming in the recent years are in for a cold winter.

A new holiday village, conveniently located close to the golf course that is being built near the Black Sea town of Balchik, will rise on about 27 000 sq m land plot, weekly Stroitelstvo Gradut reported. Investor of the project is BritanniaBalchik Inc., a partnership with British shareholders, while the design is done by architects Svetoslav Stanislavov and Delyan Zhechev from the Varnabased Disarch studio.

Israeli investors Tidhar Group and Asim Real Estate Ltd., in partnership with Bulgarian Investment Group announced plans to collaborate on a mutual eco project called Razlog Village All Seasons Nature Resort.

This may sound like a freakish selling technique, and most likely, many developers would find that it really is.Irish investor PJ Doherty recently began to offer his clients a free apartment in Bulgaria, if they would purchase property in his development in Milford, a resort area in the northwest of Ireland, BBC reported.

Lighthouse Golf Resort, the 70 million euro complex being built near Balchik on Bulgarias northeastern Black Sea coast, will officially open in May 2009. Some 50 million euro of the funds earmarked for

Soon enough, a mockup medieval castle, somewhat mimicking the style of Las Vegas, will meet and greet travellers in the Veliko Turnovo region. Spread over a land plot of 0.4 ha within the territory of the

A new holiday resort Kostina will be built in the mountain village of Ribaritsa, located near Teteven city, Stroitelstvo gradut weekly reported.

Data gathered by the Bulgarian State Agency for Tourism SAT indicated that three to four hotels on the Black Sea coast were filing for bankruptcy every week.

International hotel chain Riu Hotels amp; Resorts will take over at the Pravets Golf amp; Spa resort in Pravets, northwestern Bulgaria, Terra Tour Service, the investor in the project, said.Riu has signed on to run a hotel with more than 200 rooms in the resort for a period of five years. The 70 million leva complex, which has an 18hole golf course, among other facilities, has an area of 100 ha and should open for business by the autumn of 2009.

GHM, the owner and manager of a hotel portfolio of highly regarded properties such as The Datai and The Setai, said it would open a hotel in Bulgaira under its upscale brand Chedi. The local Chedi hotel will be part of the Thracian Cliffs golf resort near Kavarna on the Black Sea, resort manager Josef Halbherr said.

Irish lowcost airliner Aer Lingus announced it would start a new twice weekly service between Dublin and Sofia for its winter 2008 schedule, along with new services to Hamburg, Newcastle,Salzburg and Agadir . In addition, the company will increase the frequency of flights to a number of other European destinations, a company media statement said.

Resort operator Albena AD would stop construction work in the Black Sea resort with the same name in the upcoming several years, Dnevnik daily reported, quoting CEO Krassimir Stanev.The decision, made during a shareholders meeting held on June 14, was provoked by the fact that many of the hotels in the resort needed to be torn down as being outdated and architecturally unattractive, Stanev was quoted as saying.

Albena, the operator of the eponymous resort, turned the first sod to Rila Estate, a gated residential community in the Byalata Lagouna White Lagoon resort, the companys spokesperson Yovka Strashilova told Dnevnik daily.Byalata Lagouna, a resort adjoining Balchik, on the northern Black Sea, is known for its mineral thermal springs and curative mud.

Bulgaria was among the top 10 budget destinations for summer vacations in 2008, according to US travel writer Pauline Frommer.Frommers recommendations range quot;from romantic getaway spots to family faves to exotic destinations for adventurous travelers quot;, she said in a media statement.

Poor infrastructure, polluted beaches, low standards of construction, noisy building sites, poor service and bankruptcies will put Bulgarias Black Sea resorts under pressure this summer, British newspaper The Telegraph reported on May 9.

Bulgarias first hotel chain Grifid Hotels has announced plans to add at least two other hotels to its existing two, owner Grigor Fidanov said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily on May 9.Currently, the chain comprises Arabela and Bolero fourstar hotels with combined capacity of 1190 beds. Both are in the Golden Sands resort, on Bulgarias northern Black Sea coastline. The company has been in talks to purchase another hotel in the vicinity to create a hotel complex.

The Balchik municipality has expressed interest in buying back the plot of land on which the remains of the ancient temple of Kibela the ancient goddess Cybele had been discovered. A buyback however, would take a significant chunk out of the municipal budget, Bulgarian news agency BTA quoted Balchik mayor Nikolai Angelov as saying.

The new summer tourist season in Bulgaria might start with most of the beaches in its Black Sea resorts without managers, because it was unclear who would be authorised to call the concession tenders and under what conditions, Dnevnik daily reported on April 14 2008.

The summer tourist season would be officially opened on May 9, State Agency for Tourism head Anelia Kroushkova said on April 14.

A Bulgarian hotel has earned the recommendation of Forbes, the US business magazine addressing affluent readers. In its section on Eastern Europes extravagant getaways, the magazine features Yastrebets Wellness amp; Spa hotel in Borovets winter resort.

Kozloduy nuclear power plant will build a villa community in the Black Sea village of Kranevo, Dnevnik daily reported on April 9. The company already called a public procurement to design and build the community.

The tourism strategy is finalised and is now being discussed by the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs, the head of the State Tourism Agency Anelia Kroushkova told a news conference, as quoted by Dnevnik daily.

The number of property transactions in 2008 is expected to decline due to the withdrawal of British and Irish customers, who used to fuel the markets development in the last several years, and the logical downswing of the business cycle curve, Foros real estate company manager Dobromir Ganev told a news conference on April 3.

About 10 000 Romanian tourists are expected to flood to Bulgarias northern Black Sea coast during the Orthodox Easter holidays. Easter Sunday, April 27 this year, and the next day are a public holiday in both Romania and Bulgaria, Standart daily reported.

After a fivehour discussion on April 2, the interdepartmental committee of the Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs MOEW turned down the environmental assessment of the amendments of Tsarevo municipality master plan for redesign

Bulgarian resorts ranked at the bottom of the price lists of British tour operators, Krassimir Stanev, executive director of Albena Jsc, said at a news conference, Dnevnik daily reported. That is not, however, where Albena wants to be.

Albena holding company will pour 50 million leva this year in increasing bed capacity and modernising hotel complexes in Albena resort, according to the company managements plans, published in its corporate report for 2007 and quoted by Dnevnik daily.

Middleaged Bulgarians have embraced the philosophy of healthy living and recreation, increasingly opting for sparesort vacations, according to the monthly survey of the tourist website travel.bg.

The resort village of Kamchiya, located 28 km southward from Varna, will attract significant investment to the tune of between 200 and 250 million euro over the next two or three years, Avren municipality mayor Krassimir Todorov said, as quoted by Bulgarian news agency BTA.

The first group of 74 foreign tourists for the new summer season arrived at Bourgas airport aboard a lowcost Sterling airlines plane from Copenhagen on March 30, Bourgas city hall said in a statement.

Shablas municipal council has granted land for the development of three golf courses, dobrichmedia.com reported. Construction has not started yet, as authorities are presently working out project details.

About four million leva is needed for the development of a fishermans village in Balchik, municipality officials said upon emerging from a meeting with local fishermen, representatives of the sea club, municipal councillors and the mayors team on discussing the project.

The 100 million euro Azur del Mar holiday project on Cape Kaliakra is unlikely to come into fruition, citybuild.bg reported. The developer Kaliakra Invest Ltd suspended continuation due to the expiry of its legally prescribed period

A new spa complex, worth 2.5 million leva 1.2 million euro, will be developed in the town of Kyustendil this year, mayor Petar Paunov said, as quoted by local dailyVyara on March 25.

Karlovo mayor Naiden Naidenov and a number of municipal councillors are trying to delay businessman Hristo Kovachkis project for the development of the town of Banya as a tourist destination, by insisting on his clarifying the origin and the volume of the investment, Dnevnik daily reported on March 24.

Bourgas firm On Time won the concession for Central Beach, one of the citys three beaches. The company will manage the seaside stripe for a period of 15 years.

The number of trips made by Bulgarians abroad increased by eight per cent yearonyear in 2007, to a total of 4.514 million, according to provision data from the National Statistics Institute.

Construction in the coastal resort of Sunny Beach Slunchev Bryag and the nearby tourist settlements cannot and will not stop before midMay, Nessebur mayor Nikolai Dimitrov said, as quoted by Dnevnik daily.

The number of accommodation facilities in Bulgaria has doubled to 3 300 over the past two years, data of the National Statistical Institute for 2007 showed.

lt;P gt;Bulgarias first ecohotel, in line with the relevant EU standards, would open no earlier than 2009, Denimila Dencheva, senior expert with the Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs, told the Ecohotel conference held in Sofia. lt;P gt; lt;P gt;There were number of tourism facilities in Bulgaria that put the word eco, when describing the services they offer. Some of them have acquired various certificates, while others use the symbol without any authorisation, Dnevnik daily reported on March 13. lt;P gt;

lt;P gt;People who want to enjoy reduced living costs could find Bulgaria a suitable place to live, international property portal propertyshowrooms.com reported. lt;P gt; lt;P gt;The cost of food and drink in places such as Sofia is much less than in many other European countries, it said, quoting a Teletext Holidays tourism company research. lt;P gt; lt;P gt;Low cost of living would be of interest to anyone who planned to buy property in Bulgaria, suggesting that the location offered good value for money. lt;P gt;

lt;P gt;Germans are once again starting to book Bulgarian holidays after a twoyear withdrawal, Dnevnik daily reported on March 11. The positive signals came from the last weeks International Tourism Bourse ITB, the annual businesstobusiness industry event, the daily claimed. lt;P gt; lt;P gt;Industry experts said German bookings in Bulgaria should see a fivepercent increase this year to around 400 000 in 2008. Statistics from Bourgas and Varna airports on the Black Sea showed that 390 000 German tourists came to the country on trips arranged by tour operators and that is considered the official figure, but the total number of Germans that landed in the two airports was 600 000. lt;P gt;

The last charters of British and Irish tourists for 2007 winter season will arrive at Pamporovo resort on March 23 and April 1, Pamporovo ski school representatives said, as reported by Bulgarian news agency BTA.

Terra Tour Services, a subsidiary of Agrohold JSC, will invest 71.8 million leva in Pravets Golf amp; Spa Club, to be located near the town of Pravets, some 50km northeastern of Sofia, profit.bg reported on March 10.

Bulgaria is the best valueformoney summer holiday destinations for UK citizens, according to this years Best Value Breaks survey by Teletext Holidays and reported by the British newspaper The Sun. The country ranks highly because of cheap flights and accommodation. Morocco was the second best destination.

Property prices in Bulgarias southern town of Melnik and in neighbouring areas have soared due to the increased interest in the winegrowing region, Standart daily wrote on March 10.

lt;P gt;Banya Golf and SPA Resort Jsc BGSR, controlled by Bulgarias energy tycoon Hristo Kovachki, has recently deposited its full contribution due to the joint enterprise with Karlovo municipality, which will realise Banya golf resort project, Nikolai Petkov, chairman of Karlovo municipal council, said, as quoted by expert.bg. lt;P gt;

In their search of high yields and satisfactory capital raise, entrepreneurs have set their sights on quite outofthe ordinary destinations like the districts surrounding Mongolias copper mines or western Canadas oil reserves, as the newer investment areas such as Cape Verde, Morocco and Bulgaria have started to overheat, a recent Financial Times FT report says.

Low cost international carriers are facing little competition from equivalent Bulgarian carriers, Pari daily reported on March 4. stablished lowcost airlines on the Bulgarian aviation market, such as Sky Europe and Wizz Air, are increasing the frequency of flights to Sofia and Bulgarias Black Sea resorts.

Foreign interest in holiday properties in Rousse region has stalled because prices have soared immensely and available properties have lost their attractiveness, with the market is suffering a lack of retail space in Rousses downtown, investor.bg reported on March 4 2008. Plots designated for construction of holiday houses command similar values in neighbouring municipalities

Bulgarias property market has been on the rise over the last few years, with real estate prices rising by 30.6 per cent in 2007, but their growth is expected to continue at a more moderate pace this year, home and property portal homemove.co.uk said on March 3. The region has a significant potential, particularly in commercial and industrial areas sector

The Irish Sunday Tribune newspaper has ranked Bulgarian ski resort Borovets 6th in its Top 10 of the most lucrative property locations, Dnevnik daily reported on March 4. The list is topped by the worlds fastest growing city, Dubai. Also on the list in that order are Ibiza, Poznan, Toulouse, Geneva, Orlando, London, Hurghada and Portugals Silver Coast.

lt;P gt;Turkish hotel chain Dedeman Hotels amp;amp;Resorts International will take over the management of two Bulgarian hotels, owned by Turkish businessman Sudi Ozkan, Dnevnik daily reported on February 29. The hotel operator has already placed job ads to fill available vacancies in Bulgarian papers. lt;P gt; lt;P gt;Dedeman will take over the Ozkan hotels the 200room Trimontsium Princess in Plovdiv and the 600room Sofia Princess in the Bulgarian capital, in early March. The Turkish operator intends to invest in upgrading the two hotels which are currently rated at four stars. lt;P gt;

lt;P gt;Bulgaria, Turkey and France are the three countries set to see the biggest growth in demand among overseas property investors, a new survey has found. lt;P gt; lt;P gt;Fly2let.co.uk reports that the NatWest International Personal Banking League of Buying Abroad found that 75 per cent of mortgage brokers expect to see an increase in the number of people looking to buy in Bulgaria in the next three years. lt;P gt; lt;P gt;Turkey 56 per cent and France 46 per cent are also expected to see a rise in demand, it was found. lt;P gt;

Bulgaria, Turkey and France are the three countries set to see the biggest growth in demand among overseas property investors, a new survey has found.Fly2let.co.uk reports that the NatWest International Personal Banking League of Buying Abroad found that 75 per cent of mortgage brokers expect to see an increase in the number of people looking to buy in Bulgaria in the next three years.Turkey 56 per cent and France 46 per cent are also expected to see a rise in demand, it was found.

British and Irish buyers are withdrawing from the Bulgarian holiday market. And Russians and Scandinavians are likely to replace them, said Martin Gikov, Real Estate Management Director with UniCredit Bulbank at a news conference about the Bulgarian property sector.Foreigners accounted for about 30 per cent of transactions in residential developments last year. Their share, however, is decreasing for a number of reasons, Gikov commented.Irish and British customers, who have so far formed the core of holiday property buyers, reduced their activity following the global credit squeeze. Theyve also been deterred by low yields on seaside developments. Traditionally, British and Irish seaside property purchases are driven by speculative purposes. Initially they were tempted by the developers promises of high returns in the 10 per cent range.

The massive overdevelopment of Bulgarias Black Sea coast continues. The new law, which came into force at the beginning of the year to regulate construction in the area, seems to do nothing much to limit the worrying trend. Local media in Burgas alarmed that the building of a fivestory hotel began on the beach near the ancient town of Sozopol, north of the resort Tsarevo on February 21. They argue that the construction site is illegal as it falls in a zone protected under the EUs Natura 2000 network.

lt;P gt;The new mayor of the town of Sozopol on Bulgarias Black Sea has presented the amendments to the urban zoning plan, which would see 10km of coastline between Sozopol and Chernomorets built up into a an upgraded luxury version of of Sunny Beach resort, Dnevnik daily reports. lt;P gt; lt;P gt;Panayot Reizi, elected in November 2007, and new chief architect Roumen Aleksandrov announced plans for the construction of of beachfront villas, an aqua park, three golf courses and a small runway for charter planes. The proposed developments have been included in the revised general zoning plan of the city of Sozopol and would be presented to the municipal council within the next two weeks. lt;P gt;

lt;P gt;The number of tourists in globally is expected to triple in the coming 20 years, Veselin Vulchev, aide to Bulgarias Foreign Minister Ivaylo Kalfin, said at a round table for the leaders of South East Europe countries tourism authorities on February 21 2008. lt;P gt; lt;P gt;The round table on the subjects of history, culture and tourism was a part of the events accompanying Holiday amp;amp;Spa tourism exhibition that opened on the same day in Sofia. lt;P gt;

Three Balkan countries, Bulgaria, Croatia and Albania, offer some of the most exceptional attractions in Eastern European, according to Forbes.com.The websites travel section highlights ten spots, including natural and architectural landmarks, worth seeing throughout the region. It notes that the quot;recent strength of the euro and a number of countries easing of visa requirements have drawn tourist interest to Eastern Europe in search of architecturally, historically and culturally significant sights that for years had been practically overlooked quot;. Forbess choice in Bulgaria is Nebet Tepe, one of the three hills that tower over Plovdiv, one of Bulgarias largest cities. Reaching 203 metres in height, it overlooks the Old Town, with its Revivalist period architecture, and features the remains of a Thracian fortress built in the third century BC as well as Roman city walls.

lt;P gt;The 25th anniversary edition of the Holiday amp;Spa fair, organised by Prim Expo in cooperation with the State Agency for Tourism, opened on February 21 2008 in Sofia. lt;P gt; lt;P gt;The exhibition, running until February 23, featured more than 240 tour operators and tourist agencies, state and branch organisations, regional and local tourism councils, spa and fitness equipment companies from countries such as Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Austria, Macedonia, England, Cyprus, Croatia, Egypt, Thailand and others. lt;P gt;

Around 440 000 British tourists visited Bulgaria in 2007, the UK Ambassador to Bulgaria Steve Williams said at a meeting with Varna mayor Kiril Yordanov on February 19. He added that the British quot;colony quot; in Bulgaria is increasing all the time, although he has no statistics for their exact number. According to the diplomat, they may number about a thousand. Ambassador Williams added that many Britons own properties in Bulgaria but do not live permanently in the country.

lt;P gt;Local authorities would invest 28 million leva in the construction of a spa centre and three recreational centres in the village of Kroushouna, in Lovech region in northern Bulgaria, the mayor of Letnitsa municipality Krassimir Djonev said, as quoted by expert.bg. lt;P gt; lt;P gt;The village of Kroushouna has become a popular alternative tourism destination for the with the Vodopada Waterfall cave, which resembles a water labyrinth, just 800m south of the village. lt;P gt;

In an attempt to attract affluent tourists, local business people have opted for luxury construction at certain destinations along the northern coastline, which have not yet suffered the consequences of overconstruction, Standart daily reported. These are some of the projects under development July Morning, a seaside resort, which will spread over 95 000 sq m of beachfront sea land, situated next to Kavarna. This will deliver about 400 apartments. Construction is expected to start in spring. The investor is Bulgarian Land Development, headed by Dimitur Spasov.

lt;P gt;Ehotels, a new Bulgarian chain managed by Ambassador Tour company, presented its hotel portfolio on February 19 2008. The hotels and Ambassador Tours are both owned by Bourgasbased construction holding PONS. lt;P gt; lt;P gt;The chain now operates four hotels Snezhanka in Pamporovo resort, Perla in Slunchev Bryag Sunny Beach, Diva in Chiflik village and Rodopski dom Rhodopi home in Chepelare. Another two will be associated soon Knyaz Pavel in Pavel Banya in autumn 2008 and the newlybuilt Andromeda in Sunny Beach, expected join Ehotels in the summer. Their managers are now negotiating the accession terms. lt;P gt;

German business has professed an interest in the development of Bansko, said the German ambassador to Bulgaria, Michael Gayer, during his visit to the resort town.

The British construction company RilaDev and the Bulgarian Tempo will develop a 25 million euro resort compound on a 16 000 sq m plot near the village of Banya. The future Pirinea Complex will have a gross actual area of 44 000 sq m and will embrace a fivebuilding residential section, housing 147 apartments, a fourstar hotel with underground parking, conference and business centre

The owners of some hotels on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast are revamping them into holiday home properties as concerns mount about the outlook for domestic real estate investments. The trend is especially evident in the coastal resort of Golden Sands, said local realtors.

Currently, there are several entrepreneurs who continue building in Zlatni pyassutsi Golden Sands and St Constantine and Elena resorts, near Varna. New construction embraces primarily SPA centres and apartment complexes on the site of former state or factoryowned recreational compounds.

After Sluntchev Bryag Sunny Beachs beachfront was tightly builtup and plots near BourgasSofia thoroughfare were burrowed for construction, building works in Sluntchev Bryag seem to have abated, Standart daily reports. Unlike in previous years, when the dawn of spring marked the start of works and the whole resort was turned into a construction site, heavy building equipment is now less prominent.

quot;Golf tourism is extremely important for attracting more affluent tourists, quot; says Kuncho Stoychev, an investor in Black Sea Rama golf course near Balchik, which is expected to open in June. quot;If an average tourist usually spends about 50100 euro 750150 dollars a day, a golfer might spend 400500 euros, quot; he adds.