Tourism Geographies, Vol.1, No.2, pp. 192-203 (return to Table of Contents for Vol.1)

Troubled Sustainability: Bulgarian Seaside Resorts

Marin Bachvarov
University of Sofia, Bulgaria and University of Lodz, Poland

Abstract:

This article describes changes in the tourism settlement network of a highly developed travel destinations in Eastern Europe -- the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast -- against the background of regional sustainable tourism development during the severe economic crisis that accompanied Bulgaria's transition from a centralized economy to a market economy. Two levels of tourism and recreation settlement networks are identified: (1) a narrow group of 178 specialized resort communities and (2) a broader group embracing all other settlements hosting tourism-related activities, including recreation in second homes. The specialized resort communities can further be divided into three types of settlements: larger multifunction cities (Varna and Bourgas); new tourist resorts (so-called ‘resort complexes,' of which there are two subdivisions); and small coastal towns and villages, usually of ancient origin, and in which tourism development has marginalized the older functions. Sustainable forms of tourism development are more successful in the smaller towns, largely irrelevant in the large cities, and a major problem for the large, monocultural resort complexes.

Keywords: Tourism, Recreation, Bulgaria, Black Sea, Tourist and recreation settlements, Sustainable development.