The tourism sector in Bulgaria is ready to work with the common European currency

Tourism is one of the sectors in Bulgaria ready to the greatest extent to smoothly continue working after Bulgaria joins the Еurozone, the executive director of the National Tourism Board, Dr. Polina Karastoyanova, believes. In tourism, and at this moment, the majority of prices - for hotels, services, trips - are offered by tour operators in euros, since they work with both currencies, as required by law.

"A jump in prices can only occur as a function of changing the prices of all supplies, services, goods, and elements that create the tourism product," she added. During a special discussion on the topic in Sofia, business representatives and experts explained the upcoming steps and changes that Bulgaria must undertake in order to be fully ready to join the eurozone on January 1, 2026.

Polina Karastoyanova, head of the National Tourism Board

In connection with the upcoming extremely important step for Bulgaria, representatives of the tourism sector have formulated 10 specific questions for the responsible institutions in this country. Many of them already have their answers in the Law on the Introduction of the Euro, as well as on the information website https://evroto.bg.

"In Bulgaria, we have the luxury of having support for the euro be over 40% practically without an information campaign," said Stanislav Popdonchev, deputy chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Chamber, comparing Bulgaria to Slovenia, where a year before the introduction of the European currency, public support was around 20%.

However, businesses are interested in the specific date of joining the Eurozone, as this is essential for setting up the software they work with:

"We will probably find out the exact date of when the euro will be introduced in June. The convergence reports should be released, which we hope will be positive, after which a series of meetings of the EU Council will begin, which will adopt three decisions. One is about the exchange rate, which cannot be determined without Bulgaria's consent. The second decision is related to the date of the introduction of the euro, which is usually at the beginning of the next calendar year. This means that if the date is January 1, 2026, businesses will have about six months to prepare all their processes and software for working with the euro," explained Stanislav Donchev. He recommended that companies that have not started working in this direction not waste time.

Surveys of the Bulgarian Industrial Association over the last three years show that businesses in Bulgaria are informed, prepared and eagerly awaiting the introduction of the euro, the deputy chairman of the chamber also pointed out:

"It is really important that we, as a business, can show the rest of society, including the administration, which I am convinced is also not prepared for the introduction of the euro, how Bulgaria should become part of the eurozone and to dispel the fears of Bulgarian citizens." ‎

Deputy Minister of Finance Metodi Metodiev gave assurances that there was no danger that the euro exchange rate would differ from the one agreed upon in several decisions of the National Assembly, adopted by a qualified majority:‎

"The second "anchor" is the so-called stay of Bulgaria in the ERM2 exchange rate mechanism and the requirement to be there for at least two years. The idea behind this condition is to see if there is any tension regarding the exchange rate during this two-year period. Bulgaria, as a country with a Currency Board and as having unilaterally declared that it will irrevocably adhere to the fixed exchange rate within the board, and for more than two years that we have been part of the exchange rate mechanism, the board has been working perfectly. So any speculations that are being made about the exchange rate are absolutely unfounded."

As for the preparation of the state administration for its work with the new currency, the deputy minister announced that the implementation of the necessary software is taking place at a good pace:

"At the last meeting of the Coordination Council for Bulgaria's preparation for the eurozone, it was reported that 76% of the state bodies whose software is owned by the state, have already concluded annexes to their contracts and have taken action with the relevant suppliers to adapt their software. I hope that in the next few months this percentage will reach one hundred." ‎

Metodiev appealed to private companies to start preparing their transmission, since there are not a very large number of companies on the Bulgarian market that offer similar type of software and they may be overwhelmed with orders, which would also lead to an increase in the price of the service. ‎

In an interview with Radio Bulgaria, the Chairperson of the Economic and Social Council of the Republic of Bulgaria, Zornitsa Rusinova, has pointed out that it is imperative to quickly launch a national explanatory campaign related to the process of replacing the lev with the euro:‎

‎"The main problems at the moment are related to the fact that people are not clear about what the period for the free exchange of the currency will be. We have recommended that there be a sufficiently long period – about a year – in which prices are indicated both in leva and in euros, so that people can monitor whether there is any change in the price and can submit signals, but also get used to the upcoming currency conversion. It is important to have a long period, which is currently planned to be 6 months, in which banks and the Bulgarian Post Offices will exchange the currency without fees."

Ms. Rusinova also drew attention to the elderly citizens, calling on them to also be well informed about what is coming and, if necessary, protected so that they do not become the subject of fraud related to their pensions and savings.

Photos: BTA, pixabay

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The tourism sector in Bulgaria is ready to work with the common European currency

It is important to start a national awareness campaign among the people related to the replacement of the lev with the euro, experts say

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