After 3 years of debate, the ministry is on the way to propose a project for a guarantee fund in tourism

Next week, the Ministry of Tourism is expected to publish for public discussion the project, which proposes to introduce a guarantee fund in which tour operators and travel agents will have to make contributions. The accumulated amount will be used for compensation for the tourists arriving in Bulgaria in the event of bankruptcy.

Currently, tourist companies are obliged to insure for this purpose, but this happens with minimum amounts that could only cover a negligible part of the amounts in the event of an end to the activity. The Guarantee Fund project is still the subject of major controversy in the industry, as well as between the industry and the ministry. The topic has been condemned for 3 years.

« We are ready after our last working meeting on Tuesday to publish the draft law for public consultation. We will try to be as balanced as possible against the needs of the industry, » the minister said.

Without more detail, he pointed out that the idea is that all tour operators make contributions within 1% of their turnover to the Fund, and the turnover data will be taken by the NRA. Their representatives said that this percentage is high, that it means that it means to be taxed all their revenue, which may be from another activity than tourism. They suggested that the percentage be deducted from the price of tourist packages as the simplest mechanism. They indicated that the particular person with whom the company has concluded a travel contract is directly defended.

One of the disagreements in the industry is also related to the fact that those of the companies receiving foreign tourists do not want to make contributions to the fund, as their customers are protected from the systems in the countries they come from.

« So far we see no reason to divide tour operators, » the minister commented whether all companies in the sector should participate in the fund. « Regardless of our advanced systems, I think we still cannot say if a operator will not want to carry out other activity other than inbound tourism, » the minister explained.

He pointed out that at this stage insurance companies not only refuse to insure 100%, but also to make high value premiums to cover the work of tourist operators. At the same time, fees are increasing almost every year, « there are bright examples of tour operators with millions, tens of millions, for example, only 200, 300, 500 thousand to BGN 1 million at a high rate of paying tour operators, » the minister said.

Among the advantages of the Fund compared to the current situation, he also pointed out the possibility of the sector being lightened. According to data cited by him, 1800 are currently registered as tour operators, but the question is how many of them actually carry out activity. Separately, 650-700 are tour operators who have a turnover of over BGN 100,000, which means that the main burden for the guarantee fund will fall to less than 25-30 percent of tour operators.