The Ministry of Tourism is organizing and coordinating the most massive joint inspection of commercial establishments in the Sunny Beach resort to date, with the participation of the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC), the National Revenue Agency (NRA), the Regional Health Inspectorate (RHI) and the Economic Police. For the first time, so many institutions are operating simultaneously in the field under the coordination of the ministry. Deputy Minister of Tourism Pavlin Petrov was also present on site. The aim is to ensure the safety of tourists and to exercise effective control over the quality of services offered in the busiest resort areas.
Minister of Tourism Miroslav Borshos stated that the inspections are part of the ministry's long-term strategy for developing the sector through high standards and transparent control. “Guaranteing a quality and safe tourist service is a priority for us. The tourist must be protected not only as a consumer, but also as a guest of our country. That is why the Ministry of Tourism works in sync with all control bodies to guarantee legality, trust and sustainability in the sector“, said Minister Borshos.
“The active presence of the control institutions at the beginning of the summer season shows our enormous commitment to offering a quality tourist product“, Minister Miroslav Borshos also stated during the briefing at the Council of Ministers earlier today. “This is the first time that work has been carried out on such a scale, with so many institutions and with such operational coordination. In this way, we are giving a clear signal to the tourism business that compromises with the safety of tourists will not be allowed. Coordinated control is a key tool for maintaining trust in Bulgarian tourism services“, the minister added.
Over 50 commercial establishments were inspected during the inspection. NRA officers applied the “mystery shopper“ method to identify unregulated commercial practices and concealment of income. All institutions carried out inspections within their competences, including with regard to hygiene conditions, labeling, price information and compliance with sanitary requirements. As a result of the joint inspection, numerous violations of different nature were found by all institutions, e.g. failure to issue receipts, sale of goods without documents of origin and offering of counterfeit branded products. Some of these items were seized by the Economic Police.
The Minister of Tourism emphasized that effective control is an integral part of efforts for sustainable development of the sector: “The safety and quality of tourist services are not a coincidence – they require constant commitment, control and partnership between institutions and business“, he added.
In parallel with inspections in commercial establishments, the Ministry of Tourism, through the “Control and Inspection Activity“ Directorate, also carries out increased control over the beaches along the entire Black Sea coast. Both planned and unannounced inspections are carried out, including on weekends, aimed at compliance with the requirements for water rescue, medical care, sanitary conditions, free access, designation of zones and protection of the natural environment. To date, 189 inspections of beaches have been carried out, including 7 of unguarded areas. The violations found are 19 and 4 acts of administrative violations have been drawn up, 4 contractual penalties have been imposed. Among the most common violations are the lack of medical personnel, incomplete equipment of medical points, lack of signboards and outdated working hours of rescue teams.
All these actions are being taken against the background of information from the Bathing Water Quality Report for 2024, published on June 20, 2025 by the European Environment Agency (EEA), according to which Bulgaria is in 2nd place in the EU (after Cyprus) with 97.9% of beach waters with “excellent“ quality, including coastal and inland waters. This result is above the European standard of 85.4% for “excellent“ quality. After our country, Greece, Croatia, Italy and Spain remain. The Ministry of Tourism is in constant contact with the competent Bulgarian authorities - the Regional Health Inspectorates under the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environment and Water, which carry out regular and strict monitoring of water quality along our entire coast. The latest analyses show excellent indicators of sea water purity in most bathing areas. Bulgarian beaches meet all the requirements of the European Union and are in full compliance with safety and health standards.