Rumen Draganov, director of the Bulgarian Institute for Tourism Analyses and Assessments, has recently lamented the poor use of the country’s mineral water springs, noting the country should take cues from rival EU destinations.

“Instead of building new balneotherapy centres, we destroy and close the existing ones,” Draganov told Focus News Agency.

“When we talk about balneotherapy, the most popular destinations known for thousands of years are Hisarya, Pomorie, Velingrad, Sandanski, Kyustendil, the Starozagorski Bank (resort), Pavel Banya, Varshets, Momin Prohod, Banite – in the Rhodope mountains,” added Draganov. “There are many villages with the name of Banite, which in itself tells us there are mineral springs present there.”

“We still cannot say that we have reached the level at which these kinds of mineral waters are used in European Union countries,” said Draganov. “I mean Germany, France, the Czech Republic and Hungary. We do not even use the pools and baths that were built, including in the territory of the capital city Sofia.”

As a country well-known for its abundant mineral water resources and rich spa traditions, Bulgaria is eager to capitalise on its balneotherapy potential. There are currently more than 600 mineral springs in operation and spa tourism reportedly ranks second in Bulgaria after sea tourism, although several leading figures have called for a clearer development strategy moving forward.

Chair of the Bulgarian Tourist Chamber, Stoyan Lazarov, recently called for better collaboration between the three main government departments – the Ministry of Environment and Water, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Tourism – to effectively utilise and market the country’s spa resources.

”Unless the 3 ministries establish their structural departments united in a common conception for development of that product, there will be no perspective,” said Lazarov.

“Bulgarian Tourist Chamber has been saying for a long time our mineral springs are not used efficiently and not all the places at which they are used are in a clean environment.”