Why Do Tourist Groups in Bulgaria Rarely Use Licensed Tour Guides?

Tour guides in the country warn about the lack of control in the tourism sector. According to them, nearly 80% of the tourist groups coming to Bulgaria do not use the services of licensed Bulgarian guides. The Ministry of Tourism, however, denies such a trend.

Illegal guides are estimated to make up only about 1% of the sector. The Consumer Protection Commission (CPC) has not identified or fined any unlicensed guides in the past year.

One of the most frequent tourist stops in Sofia is the so-called "tolerance square". Dozens of buses from all over the world stop here every day. We come across tourists from Indonesia.

BNT: “Do you have a Bulgarian guide?”

Risa from Indonesia: “No, we don’t! We are on our own; I am with a group of students from Indonesia.”

In this instance, Risa is not technically breaking the law if she is simply accompanying the group. However, she gathered the students in a circle and spoke to them at length in an incomprehensible language.

“Once there is a guided tour for which you have paid, you are paying for a licensed tour guide who has undergone an extensive and rigorous process to obtain that license,” explained Ivan Videlev from the Ministry of Tourism’s Directorate for Control and Inspection Activities.

A group from England was also found without a licensed guide; the woman leading them claimed it was a private event.

The Ministry of Tourism explained that detecting unlicensed guides is difficult, as they often claim to be a relative of someone in the group or say they are simply accompanying tourists.

Their most recent inspection took place last week, during which no violations were found. The CPC, which is the regulatory body, reported that no fines have been issued this year. They noted that in many cases, individuals accompany tourists without providing official guiding services, in which case no penalties apply.

“It is true that it is hard to prove, but I believe there should be an authority, separate from the CPC—with all due respect to that commission—that conducts regular, not episodic, inspections. We often hear foreign guides giving completely incorrect information, dates, and facts,” said Nikolay Mindov, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Tour Guides in Bulgaria.

He also called for the creation of a dedicated tourist police force, similar to other countries, to ensure that groups have licensed Bulgarian guides.

BNT: “Have you come across groups without a licensed guide?”

Mindov: “Oh yes, many times!”

Fines for unlicensed guides range from BGN 500 to BGN 5,000.