Over the next year Bansko municipality in Bulgaria will invest over BGN 10 M in the infrastructure of the town, mayor Alexandar Kravarov said at the opening of the new winter tourism season. The mayor also revealed that the local municipality is planning the construction of an airport near the resort.
Over 200,000 tourists enjoyed their holiday in Bansko over the last summer season and another 500,000 spent their winter holiday in the Bulgarian mountain resort, Kravarov added.

Now the Balkan town is expecting to boost the number of the tourists by 20% thus reaching a number of 600,000. The number of foreign tourists is most likely to go up, the mayor said.

In the last 3 years, from 2001 to 2004 over EUR 180 M have been invested in Basko. It was also announced that a second cabin lift would be constructed and that over EUR 30 M will be invested in the building of a golf course.

Bansko's new winter season was inaugurated Saturday in the presence of many foreign and Bulgarian sports legends.

Ski legends Rosi Mittermayer, Franz Klammer and Marc Girardelli, football star Hristo Stoitchkov and World chess king Vesselin Topalov were among the special guests at the opening of the new winter season.