Albena Says May Halve Bed Capacity For Summer 2009

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.Tourist packages will not get cheaper because of the growing food and materials costs, Stanev projected. The resort would decide whether to close the hotels for the summer in April, he added.When crisis strikes, one of the first things to go are vacations, Stanev said. Airlines, which have been hit hard by rising oil prices, have already begun cutting down the number of flights, which could impact the tourism industry in Bulgaria, he said.Yet it was possible that Bulgaria would end up profiting from the crisis as budget travelers turn to cheaper destinations, the company's investors relations director Yovka Strashilova said.Albena's 2008 profit will drop by about 20 per cent from the previous year to about 13 million leva. Albena has also dropped its investments plans for 2009 due to the crisis, she said.Holidaymakers in 2008 spent less time on holiday, with the number of overnight stays shrinking by about four per cent even as the total number of tourists grew by three per cent.