The results of the survey “Is tourism responsible at the Black Sea Coast” were presented at the seminar “Are we ready, willing and able to develop responsible tourism?” on September 4th at the Euxinograd Estate. The survey was conducted in 18 resorts and among 1200 tourists, hotel owners, hotel employees and local residents with the goal to find out the current practice, opinions and experience of everyone involved in tourism in respect of the social, economic and environmental issues and consequences of tourism development.

The survey results show that tourists’ needs are still not fully met by the tourism industry in Bulgaria.

Tourists complain about scattered litter, lack of information about Bulgarian culture or local heritage and not enough offers for nature-based tours. Two thirds of the surveyed stated that in their opinion the nature at the beach resorts hasn’t been preserved enough. More than half of the surveyed tourists are willing to pay more to stay at an eco-responsible resort.

According to the surveyed local residents of the resorts along the Black Sea Coast tourist firms should improve services, facilities and marketing and take more efforts to preserve nature. From the municipal authorities the locals expect efforts to better infrastructure and stringent building control. The results of the survey among the employees and hotel managers show that the working methods of companies are unclear as far as codes of practice and personnel regulations.

The seminar “Are we ready, willing and able to develop responsible tourism?” brought to the same table representatives from tourist agencies, the hospitality business, the government, NGOs and the academia. All shared a common opinion that the development of responsible tourism is crucial to the betterment of the tourist products offered in Bulgaria. However much still needs to be done about employee education, personnel retainment policies, eco-friendly planning and more extensive advertising of Bulgaria as an attractive tourist destination.    

The discussion of the issues concerning responsible tourism will continue in a seminar in Sofia on November 11th when the World Responsible Tourism Day is also celebrated. 

The seminars are part of the project ‘Corporate Social Responsibility in the Tourism Industry in Bulgaria - the Facts and the Future’ carried out by the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum (BBLF) and co-funded by the European Commission.