Monday, September 12, 2011

Bulgaria Mulls Offering Free Vacations to Tourists Stranded at Coastal Airports

September 12, 2011, Monday

Bulgaria Mulls Free Vacations to Tourists Stranded at Coastal Airports: Bulgaria Mulls Offering Free Vacations to Tourists Stranded at Coastal Airports

Bulgaria Air, Bulgaria's national airline carrier and heir to Balkan Airlines, cancelled Friday and Saturday 4 flights to Russia and Finland, booked by Alma Tour, who according to the airline owe them some EUR 3.5 M. File photo

Hotel owners in Bulgaria are considering inviting the tourists who spent three days at the airport of the Bulgarian Black Sea city of Burgas on a free vacation in June next year.

The information was reported Monday by the Bulgarian Dnevnik daily, citing the Association of Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Owners.

The final decision on the offer will be made on September 27 at the meeting of the Governing Board of the Association, which is now in the process of collecting data from all over the country about the possible packages that could be presented to the tourists.

The Association's Chair, Blagoy Ragin, is quoted saying that the goal of the move is to attempt to strike the embarrassment and let holidaymakers know that the Bulgarian tourist sector is compassionate about their misfortune, adding he was counting on the fact Russian were not known as "revengeful" people.

The Association is to also get in touch with the Russian tour operator to discuss the parameters of compensation for the stranded tourists.

500 Russian and 180 Finish tourists have been stranded at the Black Sea airports of Burgas and Varna after Bulgaria Air, Bulgaria's national airline carrier and heir to Balkan Airlines, cancelled Friday and Saturday 4 flights to Moscow, St. Petersburg and Helsinki that were booked by the Bulgarian tour operator Alma Tour, who according to the airline owe them some EUR 3.5 M.

Part of them were able to return home on a flight paid for by the Russian tour operator and on the Bulgarian government plane, ordered by Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov to be flown to Burgas to aid in the transportation of the neediest, such as children, pregnant women and people who might be ill. The craft with a capacity of 90 transported about 200 tourists Saturday.

In order to rescue the otherwise very strong tourist season, hotel owners in Bulgaria's largest summer resort Sunny Beach decided to accommodate, free of charge, the tourists still stranded in Burgas.

Among conflicting reports on the exact number of tourists, remaining in Bulgaria, it is also unclear how they will get home.

According to the largest private TV channel bTV about 400 tourists, including 170 from Finland still could not board a flight home as of late Sunday evening.

Bulgaria Air announced mid-day Sunday that it is resuming flights to Russia and the Baltic Republics for tourists of Alma Tour Fly, despite the ongoing dispute with the tour operator Alma Tour.

Meanwhile, Darik radio cites the Russian Channel I TV reporting that 280 Russian tourists are scheduled to be flown back to the Federation Monday.

There are also reports that some of the vacationers, including children, need medical help.

The Sofia City Prosecution started an investigation whether the events were caused by Alma Tour employees, following an order by Bulgarian Chief Prosecutor, Boris Velchev, and consultations with PM Boyko Borisov.

The results of the probe are expected in 10 days.

http://www.novinite.com

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