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Beach Concessions Uncertainty Clouds Start Of Tourist Season
The new summer tourist season in Bulgaria might start with most of the beaches in its Black Sea resorts without managers, because it was unclear who would be authorised to call the concession tenders and under what conditions, Dnevnik daily reported on April 14 2008.The Cabinet would discuss the matter on April 17, when it is expected to approve amendments to the laws on concessions and state assets, Dnevnik said.
Government experts have suggested that the existing concession contracts are extened until the end of 2008, when new concession tenders would be held.
According to Dnevnik, a number of the beaches in the resorts of Albena, St. Konstantin and Elena, Elenite and Zlatni Pyasutsi (Golden Sands) would be left with no lifeguard services, which are provided by the concession holders.
The Cabinet could transfer the beaches under the jurisdiction of regional governors, but such a decision was not on the agenda of the Cabinet, because it had to approve amendments in the laws on concessions and state-owned possessions first, the newspaper said. The amendments would allow the Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs to decide which beaches would be given on concession and which ones would be rented out.
One option is for the smaller beaches to be put under the authority of the municipalities on public procurements. Another is a state-owned company to be charging with caring for and renting out of the beaches. The newspaper quoted one Government source as saying that by April 16 it would become clear which company could be assigned the task.
Bourgas regional governour Georgi Nikolchev said that if a state owned-company takes up the beaches, concession tenders could be held in 30 to 45 days at the earliest. The tourist season, however, starts on May 9.
Beaches in Nessebar, Primorsko, Tsarevo and the campings of Gradina, Smokinya and Kavatsite, all in the southern part of the coastline, could remain without any sort of oversight, the the same source said. One short-term solution was to rent them out for a year, as there was no shortage of interested candidates.
The amendments to the concession law, which the Cabinet is expected to approve at its meeting this week, envision that beaches would be rented out for 10 years and concessions would be for 20 years.
Although the Cabinet considers the terms to be the most expedient, the country's competition watchdog has said that the long periods were violating the constitution and limited competion on the market.