Бизнес

This year the National Bulgarian Investment Forum was held for the first time outside Sofia. It is significant that on April 5 and 6, the hosts of the forum were South Central Region and Plovdiv Municipality. The central theme was regional investment projects, with special attention paid to the strategic importance of the South Central Region, to which the municipality of Velingrad is also included. The focus was on several main directions: labor market, credit rating of the area, packaging market, prospects for agriculture and food processing, wine and cosmetic industry, business associations and tourism development projects.
The forum was opened by Minister of Finance Milen Velchev, the Minister of Economy Milko Kovachev and the Minister of Transport and Communications of Macedonia Chemali Mehazi, many representatives of local authorities, including the chairman of the Municipal Council - Velingrad Nejat Kehayov.
Mr. Kehayov assessed as extremely useful the presentation of Velingrad during the special session dedicated to the development of tourism. Besides him, the presentation was also attended by the chairman of the local Association of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs Zlatko Zlatanov and one of the owners of the hotel "Olymp" Angel Manolov. Great interest in Velingrad was witnessed by the President of the National Association of SPA-tourism Stanislav Stankov. In presenting the municipality of Velingrad as a center of balneology and SPA tourism, which is a successful alternative to sea tourism, the priorities for development were emphasized. Mr. Kehayov announced that the intentions of the municipality are listed in terms of landmark sites: completion of the Cultural House; construction of a holiday village; tourist attractions such as the retro-train Septemvri - Velingrad, ski slopes of Yundola, Starina and Kurtovo, amusement park "Velyova Banya"; modernization of the Central Mineral Beach; construction of a golf-course next to the Microjazora; a new concept of the park "Trepi". Immediately from the present businessmen and organizations came 2 proposals with declared interest in the Cultural House and one proposal for a golf course, N. Kehayov. Potential investors are invited to talks in Velingrad.
The Investment Forum has decided to propose legislative changes to facilitate the coordination of projects in the presence of mixed ownership. An example of the difficulties is Kleptuza, where due to the presence of state and municipal property, a complete vision cannot be built. Another problem discussed is the existence of a "grey" sector in tourism. There is a clear discrepancy between the reported data on the number of tourists who visited Velingrad in recent years and the revenues from a resort fee in the municipal treasury. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that, by law, the income from a resort fee should be reinvested solely in tourist advertising and infrastructure improvement. But when a lot of them don't add up, we fall behind in advertising and infrastructure.
Tempo