Organizers of the event promise a snow fest and numerous surprises for all visitors. Ski and snowboard demonstrations, competitions for snow figures and horseback riding are some of the events to mark the opening.

Borokids child park and Boroland theme park will work free of charge for the opening.

Borovets also announced lift pass prices. One day cards during the week cost 55 leva for adults and 33 leva for children. The daily pass during weekends will cost 35 leva for adults and 22 leva for children.

Snow, music, dances and warm drinks welcomed tourist who came to witness the opening ceremony.
Marc Girardelli won the slalom in competition with Pirmin Zurbriggen, Bulgarian skier Petar Popangelov, Bojan Krizaj, Paul Accola, Patrick Ortlieb, Peter Muller and Hubert Strolz.

The race took place at Alberto Tomba track in the winter resort.

All ski champions endowed their personal belongings for a charity auction.

The figure is 1.3 percent higher than revenue for the same period of 2008.
Foreign tourist visits to Bulgaria during the 10 months of 2009 decreased 0.2 percent. Bulgarian travels to foreign countries decreased 11.2 percent.

Visits of tourists from EU member countries increased 2.9 percent. The number of EU visitors who came to Bulgaria totaled 3.988 million people.

Sandanski and Palma de Mallorca will cooperate in the sphere of tourism. The Spanish experience will be very useful for Sandanski’s businesses, member of parliament Sandanski mayor Mladen Timchev said. Spanish hotel owners visited Sandanski and advised their Bulgarian counterparts, Timchev said.

The Sandanski association of hotel and restaurant owners in Sandanski worked together with Spanish experts on a project that will receive funding from the cross-border cooperation operational program.

The aim of project is to development of tourism in Bulgaria and Greece, as well as the creation of information portals.

Prices for accommodation and other services in Austrian and Italian resorts are close to those in Bulgarian resorts. A number of tour operators offer package vacation in Austria. For example a seven-night stay in a three-star hotel in the Austrian resorts Kitzbühel and Pitztal, including a six-day ski pass for costs between 300 and 400 euro per person.
Prices are similar in the Italian winter resort of Montecampione.

French resorts among which Val d’Isere and Les Arcs offer prices reaching as low as 500 to 600 euro. Prices are highest in the Swiss Alps. A seven-day vacation in Gstaad including a ski pass costs as much as 800 euro, travel expenses excluded.

Winter resorts in Italy and Austria are the most affordable for Bulgarian tourists. A ski pass in Austria and Italy gives tourists access to hundreds of kilometers of slopes, since facilities connect one resort zone to another.

About 600 of these apartments are used by tour operators and offer accommodation.
Kravarov met British consul in Bulgaria Ian Barks and discussed the problems that British property investors might face in Bansko.

Meanwhile, Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said that the European Commission (EC) has received numerous complaints. These complaints concern property purchase fraud, Telegraph daily reported.

Bulgarian sumo wrestler Kaloyan Mahlyanov Kotooshu and Japanese ambassador to Bulgaria Tsuneharu Takeda lobbied for the acceptance.

Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Wien and Boston are among the 70 cities that are members of the league.

The company compiled the prices of flights, accommodation and lift-passes. According to a survey skiers will spend 819 pounds in Bulgaria for a vacation taking place between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The price in a French winter resort will be 1366 pounds.

Despite the signs of economic recovery, people are still limiting their expenses, company representative Perry Wilson said.

Bulgaria offers good value for money. Though the ski areas are still small, the government is willing to invest in the resorts.

Pirmin Zurbriggen – four times winner of the World Cup and Olympic champion and world champion Peter Mueller are among the official guests. The best Slovenian skier Bojan Krizaj is also expected to take part in the event.

Alberto Tomba, Rosi Mittermaier, Janica Kostelic were among the guests of the winter season opening during previous years.

This edition of the fair will be its 30th. Bulgaria is participating for the 29th time.
Bulgaria’s booth is situated in Europe and the Mediterranean region sector in the fair.

Bulgaria will present various types of tourism among which cultural, sport alternative, adventure and spa tourism.
Bulgarian Deputy Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister Ivo Marinov will participate in WTM.

WTM is the biggest professional tourism fair in and the second most prestigious after ITB – Berlin.
In 2008, WTM brought together 5631 exhibitors from over 200 countries.