At the height of the summer season, hotel and restaurant operators face a serious problem – staff shortages at Bulgaria’s resorts.

A significant drop in interest in tourism as an education has been registered in the country, Genka Rafailova, head of the College of Tourism at the University of Economics in Varna told the BNR. The staff turnover in the industry is due to the large numbers of young people who have been emigrating, says Stanislav Stoyanov, deputy chairman of the Golden Sands union of hoteliers. In his words, the staff shortages are currently being compensated for by the refugees from Ukraine who have decided to stay in Bulgaria, though the language barrier is a problem. “We, who are older manage somehow, but for young people, communication is difficult,” Stanislav Stoyanov adds.