Borovets: Lastminute.com top destination for 2012

The UK and Ireland’s leading online travel retailer Lastminute.com has today unveiled their ‘must do, must see’ list for this year’s top destinations. The website has compiled their Top 5 ‘must visit’ destinations for 2012, as well as top 5 cities, hotels and London theatre shows. Eva Bojtos of lastminute.com was pleased with the compliation of the new list.

Bojitos said: “We’ve scoured our bookings data to inspire our customers with top travel tips for 2012 and it’s an excited must-do list, with some interesting surprises along with a few old classic destinations that never go out of fashion.” The top 5 emerging holiday destinations are Borovets, Bulgaria; Hurghada, Egypt; Lanzarote; Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt and Marrakech, Morocco. Bojtos added: “North African holiday resorts prove popular year in, year out with their guaranteed sunshine, so it’s not much of a surprise to see Egypt and Morocco featuring on our list.

“However, Borovets is a rather unusual choice of destination – it appears that budget ski holidays are set to be popular next year.”

Bulgaria's tax system luring new businesses

Bulgaria is among the top ten countries in the world with the lowest effective tax rates and is preceded only by Hong Kong, tax havens like the Bahamas Islands and petro-states like Saudi Arabia. It's no surprise then that in times of crisis, when the whole business world is shaking and struggling with financial problems, Bulgaria has seen a very distinct increase in new business startups as well as a considerable increase in the number of newly registered businesses from abroad. Local and international reports show more and more evidence of the fact that international businesses tend to establish their headquarters in Bulgaria in order to optimise their overall tax burden since Bulgarian's tax environment is by far the most favourable within the EU.

The tax environment, the rates and multiple incentives contribute greatly to international businesses allowing them to effectively and legally reduce their tax burden. The corporate income tax in Bulgaria is at a flat rate of 10% of the net income for the respective year. For a comparison the corporate tax burden in the rest of the European member states is dramatically heavier - in the UK it varies between 20-28%, in the Netherlands it's at 25%, in Italy at 31.4%, in Germany it varies between 14% and 17.5% and in Greece at 25%. At 10% corporation tax is well below the range of 15% to 36% witnessed in other EU countries.  Moreover it's also possible to get a rebate up to 100% in tax in case the business is situated in a region of high unemployment.

In regards to personal tax, Bulgaria is also at an advantage when compared to other countries. The personal income tax rate is a flat 10% with a cap at 2,000 BGN/month (ie, €1,000/month). As for the the dividend tax it is at 0% when the dividend is being distributed between EU member residents.

Not surprisingly the example set by many SMEs and big international corporations locating in Bulgaria has driven others to do the same. And knowing that in addition to the lowest tax burden from all EU countries there is also a very fast and hassle-free company registration procedure, a flexible and modern corporate law system; financial, fiscal and banking stability, the reassurance of the EU membership, a big pool of skilled workers available and the lowest costs of labor in the EU, it's easy to understand why Bulgaria is fast becoming an incorporation destination of choice.

Source newbusiness.co.uk

A winter in Borovets: some pictures

The winter is really beautiful in and around Borovets. Here are a few pictures, taken mostly this Christmas, for you to enjoy!

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Forestry Act amendment to pave the way for Ski Resorts upgrades

The amendments to the Forestry Act do not serve just one company, said Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture and Food Miroslav Naydenov earlier this week. The government discussed the bill to amend the act at its Wednesday’s meeting. According to the new bill it will be possible to build ski runs and lifts in mountain ranges without changing the designation of the territory.

Environmentalists expressed dissatisfaction with the amendment, saying it legalizes construction in natural parks, which are owned exclusively by the state. They say the amendment serves the interests of Vitosha Ski company, which manages the ski runs and lifts in the Vitosha mountain range. At the beginning of the winter tourist season the company had refused to open the facilities until the act is amended. The Forestry Act, which was adopted about six months ago, imposes very restrictive measures on the ski tourism development. Those changes would affect not only the Vitosha mountains, but also all the other mountain resorts. It will allow tourism to develop, create create jobs and revive nearby communities, said the minister. The new bill will allow construction in all resorts regulated by the Forestry Act and especially Borovets and Pamporovo.

Hunters remains a favourite for picky tourists

Hunters is known in Borovets for being the only completely no-smoking bar & restaurant and it has proved to be popular with international tourists for that reason. But most people go there for the food, reasonable prices and friendly atmosphere. You won't find anybody outside the door trying to convince you to get in. Those who push the door do it because they know that Serma and Christo will make them feel at home!

Their speciality are meat dishes barbecued in front of you on the log fire but you also need to try the grilled pepper salad with garlic and the aubergine salad (it's called Kiopolu on the menu) -- if you've tried to make those at home you know how much work it is and why it's worth it.

And one more thing: if you are a client of Balkan PMS or the Hunters Ski School, you'll get a 10% discount.

Sun & Snow make for a perfect season opening

A heavy snow dump last week has allowed Borovets to be in perfect skiing condition for the Christmas tourists.

The official opening of the resort was on December 23rd with a "fire and ice" show and since then all pistes have been open to the public making Borovets a great ski destination for the winter holidays.

No new snow is expected for the next few days but with the existing cover and snow canons working overtime, holidaymakers should not worry about lack of snow this Christmas. But to be honest, as long as there is enough snow on the pistes, who can complain of a sunny weather!

Borovets now ready for the 2011/2012 season

Borosport, the concessionaire of the ski resort Borovets, continues to fulfil their ambitious program in this winter season. Ski tracks were renovated this summer and the length of the system for snow retention was doubled in the ski zone ‘Markudjik’.

The snow making system has a doubled capacity this winter and thus ski zones should be covered with snow as quickly as possible. An extra 25 artificial snow making facilities were also purchased for ski season 2011/2012 in Bulgaria. The season will start on 20th of December and will continue until April. During the upcoming winter season the Borosport Snow Park will be installed at the same place as last year but the length will now be 610m. Many new elements will be also made available as well as a new configuration for beginners and advanced skiers alike. Hotels are readying their Xmas and New Year offers for what looks like to be another great season.  .