Why Invest Print E-mail

It is a fledgling European Union State and as such will benefit from inward investment designed to improve the country’s infrastructure

Growth in Tourism

  • Tourism contributes about 12% of Bulgaria’s domestic product and has increased by 50% between 2000 and 2004 (90% increase from EU visitors), up annually by 11.2% per year since 2002. Attracted by:

    -   3 Top Ski resorts with latest equipment

    -   Roman, Greek & Thracian historical attractions, including 9 UNESCO world heritage sites

    -   11 "Blue Flag" Beaches along 354km of Black Sea coast

    -   37,500km Hiking paths and mountain trails

    -   Average air temperature on black Sea Coast in Summer is 27c and average water temperature is 22c

    -   Over 500 mineral springs and established Spa Towns attracting regular visitors

  • Tourists expected to exceed 20 million by 2010 making it one of the greatest emerging tourism markets

Improving Infrastructure

  • Investment has been ongoing, prior to joining the EU into the country’s infrastructure and is starting to making a real difference, shortening journey times e.g. the road to the ski resort at Bansko from Sofia

  • Sofia airport, which handled 1.6m passengers in 2004, is currently undergoing a €210m upgrade: completion of a new runway and a new terminal (’06) 

  • Varna and Burgas: handle both domestic and charter flights are being expanded (a rise from 2.7m passengers in 2004 to 8m in 2040 has been forecast

  • The military presence of the US army is bringing with it $ millions in infrastructure investment  

Politics / Economy

  • A stable political system, based on a parliamentary democracy and with a government committed to economic reform

  • Member of the European Union since January 2007 which brings requirements to align the legal system with European norms, run the economy responsibly and open its markets to foreign competition

  • GDP growth expected to be high at 6% in 2005/2006 (Source: Institute of International Finance) 

  • Strong inflow of FDI 2006, driven by real estate/ construction, manufacturing, retail and financial services. The US has invested $9bn over the last 2 years alone.

  • The Government is borrowing US $309 million a year, until 2009, from the World Bank to improve infrastructure, boost tourism and employment, ensure economic growth and reduce the crime rate.

  • Strong bid for the 2014 winter Olympic games

  • Greater levels of accessibility through low cost airline operators, means more tourists and more money spent, boosting the economy 

Buoyant Property market

  • Property construction emphasis aimed at high quality design & build with minimal environmental effect

  • Property prices are low compared to most other European locations , but have risen in most cities (Source: National Statistics of Bulgaria). 

  • The country is in need of quality housing to replace the communist-style buildings

  • Bulgaria has a high rate of home ownership. Demand for housing exceeds supply and the potential resale market looks healthy in the short term

  • 29% of property transactions in 2006 involved a non-resident buyer, with Britons accounting for a 2/3s of these

  • Increasingly planning controls are becoming stricter, which means buildings are not going up at the same rate they once were, which augurs well for controlled building


Accessibility

  • Short flight times from Europe

  • Signed the EU’s “open sky”  agreement, allowing any flight operator from the EU to set up business wherever it wants.This will make Bulgaria even more accessible to tourists

  • Four low cost airlines fly to Bulgaria: Wizz Air (Hungarian based), SkyEurope (Slovak-based), AirShuttle (Norway’s), Smart Wings (Czech). Lufthansa’s Low cost airline Germanwings, as well as Myair (Italian) are to launch flights to Bulgaria shortly

  • BA, Bulgaria Air, Lufthansa, Malev Hungarian airlines, LOT Polish airways, Air France, Czech airlines all fly to Sofia (although it tends to only be BA and Bulgaria Air that fly direct) and most also to Varna