Обектив

For the first 4 months of 2010. 51,411 levs were paid in the municipality from a tourist fee - by 14,000 levs less than the same period last year and by 11,000 levs less than 2008. 20 of the 46 registered hotels, guest houses and lodgings have not paid a single lev to the municipal treasury.


The report on the tourist tax was presented by Deputy Mayor Diana Kehaiova to the Tourism Advisory Council on June 2. The impact of the crisis was reported, but the collection rate was also indicated as the reason for the drop of 27%. The municipal councilor Boris Golomehov asked what the municipality has done against hotels that have not paid a single penny - there are those that have not paid any tourist fee in either 2008, or in 2009 and 2010. He insisted on more serious scrutiny and more explanatory work.
Zlatko Zlatanov, chairman of the Association of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs, went further with the proposal for municipal employees to go to the hotels and collect the money on site - thus the collection rate would rise by 50%. He expressed serious concerns about the extremely negative opinions of tourists about Velingrad shared in Internet forums and demanded quick measures regarding infrastructure, lighting, attractions.
Angel Manolov from the Olympus Hotel stressed that in a crisis an important question is how the municipality to help the hotels, not just to want - to strengthen advertising, to fix the infrastructure.
Georgi Chinkov, chairman of the Tourism Committee in the Municipal Council, made a proposal at the June session to vote on a new amount of the tourist fee. According to him, for private lodgings it should be 20 stotinki, because it is not fair to pay 1 lev like hotels.
The municipality will lead a broader awareness campaign, including among apartment owners, issue warning letters and intensify checks, Diyana Kehayova said.
The Advisory Council discussed the proposal for the municipality to be a member of a non-profit association that will support the activities of Plovdiv Airport. The airport's intentions are to become a base for low-cost transport, which will increase the flow of tourists from abroad. The entrance fee for membership in the association for Velingrad is 23 000 leva, which the municipality cannot provide and therefore will seek funds from the business.
Elena Baeva