Another ski resort in Bulgaria is coming under harsh scrutiny by environmental groups.

The company that runs the Vitosha ski area, the main Bulgarian ski centre for the country’s capital Sofia, has said it won’t open the ski centre this winter as the long-running conflict between environmental groups and ski resort operators intensifies. Continue reading ‘Environmental groups and ski resorts standoff in Bulgaria’

An influx of tourists to Bansko is leading the British government to increase information about the area.

Because of the increasing tourism interest that has been fuelled primarly by British tourists, the British Embassy is increasing the amount of advice it’s providing to UK residents in the popular Bulgarian ski area of Bansko. Continue reading ‘British Embassy increases presence at Bansko’

The knives are out for the resignation of top Bulgarian officials since the approval to develop into the Pirin National Park, a world UNESCO heritage site.

Pressure and heavy handed lobbying to stop further development of Bulgaria’s Pirin mountain range, a UNESCO world heritage site from over expansion, have lead members of the national Green Party to demand the resignation of the Minister of Environment, Nona Karadzhova, and her Deputy, Evdokiya Maneva along with the Director of the National Office for Nature Conservation, Mihail Mihaylov, after the government gave the green light to expand operations throughout the park. Continue reading ‘Bulgaria’s Green Party demand government resignations over ski expansions’

Bansko villagers look over water damage after floods

Dozens of hotels and houses flooded, streets and pavements destroyed, vehicles smashed and an avalanche of mud. This was the aftermath of a mighty river bursting its banks on the night last May 17^th, in Bansko, Bulgaria’s upmarket winter resort in the Pirin Mountains.
Continue reading ‘Flood in Bansko ski resort ravages dozens of newly built hotels’

Vitosha mountain in summer.

More than 40,000 people have signed a petition protesting against the planned expansion of Vitosha ski area in Bulgaria.

Increasingly vocal environmental campaigners said that the proposed expansion of the ski runs and lifts, with resulting deforestation, was illegal, when it submitted the petition to the Bulgarian government this week.

The protests began in 2008 when lift operator Vitosha Ski reportedly cleared about two hectares of mountainside for new lifts and runs. It plans to expand the ski area by about 60 hectares, felling 33,000 trees in the process.

Continue reading ‘Petition surfaces fighting Bulgarian ski area expansion’

The Pirin mountains are being challenged by Bansko development companies.

Several ski resort developments in the Balkans, Carpathians and Dolomites have been under fire from environmental interests for their impact on protected areas and forests, and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is the latest to protest.

SkiRebel.com reported recently on UNESCO’s futile efforts to stop these developments, particularly at Bulgarian ski resort Bansko. The WWF, the global nature conservation organization, has published a review of several new ski projects planned for Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine.

Continue reading ‘WWF joins UNESCO in targeting European ski resort developments’

Jasna in Slovakia is one of Central Europe's up and coming ski destinations.

Ski destinations in Eastern Europe are becoming more popular with UK ski travelers, according to a travel search site.

Skyscanner says it has seen a 154 per cent rise this year in searches for winter flights from the UK to cities east of the Alps. The most popular eastern ski hubs are Krakow in Poland, Sofia in Bulgaria, Bratislava in Slovakia and Ljubljana in Slovenia. The site believes that the trends reflect the search for better value skiing this winter in light of the recession and strong Euro.

Continue reading ‘More British ski vacationers flocking to Eastern Europe’