DIVER TOURISTS TO AVOID BULGARIA
A newly drafted Ordinance provides for the issuance of four documents for licensing diving, and the documents should be filed two weeks in advance. The legislative amendments may lead to problems in this segment of the tourism business sector, announced the TV Bulgaria ON AIR.
It became clear that the GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria) government is drafting amendments to Ordinance № 7 as of 2008, which regulates the dives within the territory of Bulgaria. If the amendments are adopted, the tourist diving in the Black Sea will need the issuance of permits by the Executive Agency Maritime Administration where people must file their applications.
Afterwards, the latter must be approved by the Centre for Underwater Archaeology, the Bulgarian Naval Forces and Border Police. The amendments provide for the license to be granted only for one specific diving, with indicated place and date and it will not be authorised to be reused. Besides, there is more different set of bans on the carrying out of diving activities for sport, tourism and entertainment in areas declared as archaeological preserves. Disputes are expected to arise from the intention of the GERB government experts to prohibit underwater photos.
According to the branch, the restrictions will lead to large financial losses and outflow of foreign tourists who would prefer the Red Sea and Mediterranean as much more attractive for diving activities. Is it possible to know two weeks earlier whether at the specific date, the weather will be appropriate for underwater adventures? And who today actually manages to plan his/her vacation earlier, commented before Bulgaria ON AIR, Nikolay Dilevski, diving instructor.
According to Miroslav Slavchev, Chariman of the Association of Bulgarian Technical Divers practicing deep-sea diving, the military is striving to monopolise the diving activity within the Black Sea aquatory .
Nearly 400 Bulgarians practised diving last season in the area of Golden Sands and have swam around sunken barges. Bulgaria has 4,000 amateur divers, while there are approximately 100 professionals. Furthermore, a total of 7,000 dives were made in our Black sea in 2011 alone.
