Black Sea incidents could delay bookings for summer 2027

Continued drone attacks in the Black Sea could prompt foreign tourists to put off booking their summer holidays in Bulgaria for 2027, Ivan Groshev, chairman of the Association of Incoming Agencies, warned at the International Hospitality and Tourism Forum (HTIF), held from 12 to 14 October at Sofia’s National Palace of Culture.

He said there was a strong possibility that last-minute bookings would again dominate the summer season.
“If these incidents continue in the Black Sea, the booking window will certainly shift closer to the start of summer,” Groshev predicted. He noted that events in the Black Sea were receiving little coverage in the Western media for now, but warned the tourism industry against taking reassurance from that. In his view, hoteliers were quite likely to face another season of last-minute bookings, requiring them to monitor sales daily and adjust prices accordingly.

Groshev recalled that the war in Iran and the subsequent rise in fuel and energy prices had created uncertainty among consumers during the past summer season, considerably shortening the time between booking and arrival. In many cases, holidays were booked just four to six weeks in advance, forcing some hotels to offer bigger last-minute discounts.

Ventsislav Tanchev, owner of a large hotel complex near Pomorie on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, also predicted a difficult season in 2027. He said bookings were currently keeping roughly in line with last year’s pace, though it was still too early to draw firm conclusions. In his view, geopolitical uncertainty and inflation were squeezing European tourists’ budgets, while those choosing Bulgaria were particularly sensitive to prices.

“There is considerable anxiety and a sense of uncertainty among consumers across Europe, both because of the geopolitical situation and military conflicts in several parts of the world, and because of inflation, which is affecting more than just Bulgaria,” Tanchev said.

“People simply have less money to spend, and our potential customers are suffering as a result, perhaps more than others. That is because we are still seen as a more budget-friendly destination, and the customers who come to Bulgaria are more sensitive to prices. I find it hard to be optimistic for the simple reason that next year fewer holidaymakers will travel to the Mediterranean region and our Black Sea coast as a whole. Competition with other destinations will become even fiercer. The number of hotel beds grows every year, while demand is set to shrink further.”

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Tanchev urged hoteliers to encourage early bookings with attractive offers during the winter months, rather than wait for last-minute reservations. Competing with Turkey for holidays booked shortly before departure was “doomed to fail”, he said, as the neighbouring country had an enormous supply of hotel beds and could offer prices that Bulgarian hotels would struggle to match.

Editor: Elena Karkalanova