The tourism crisis and the Bulgarian mentality

Tourism on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast is undergoing a crisis, with many hotels remaining closed this year. Julian Popow attributes this to the Bulgarians' lack of interest in the outward appearance of their cities and towns: "No one complains to the municipal authorities when the pavements start looking like a crocodile's back... We have no interest in public welfare because nothing binds us as a society. We attach importance to private property rather than the community... But tourists aren't cockroaches that like warm, smelly, enclosed spaces. Tourists like to move around. They prefer public spaces to the couch. They want nature and culture. They want to experience history for themselves and aren't interested in the pub-version of history."

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