Tourism services for Bulgarians and foreigners should carry the same prices, Parliament decided on a first reading of the tourism law changes yesterday. Standard payment requirements will be enforced in hotels, as well as on internet tourist sites, commercial materials and brochures. The ultra-nationalist movement Ataka’s position was in opposition to the equal price lists. In this way services would become too expensive for Bulgarian citizens, Ataka member Pavel Shopov said. Equal prices for foreigners and Bulgarian residents are among the EU accession requirements, Novinar newspaper reported.
The head of the Bulgarian Association of Travel Agents (BATA) Donka Sokolova said that tourist agencies were against the new regulation. The change needed to be adopted only after Bulgaria joined the EU, Sokolova said.
The tourism law changes also provide for the creation of a state tourism agency, as a Cabinet institution. Until now, tourism has been a sphere under the guidance of the economy or finance ministries. The ruling coalition has not yet named the person who will head the agency.