The Bulgarian Tourist Union (BTU) is looking for money to repair about 150 huts and other tourist sites, its chairman Ventsislav Venev said. Each site needs from €800,000 to €1.5m to renovate.

Venev spoke in Yambol, where a regional workshop for tourist societies is under way in Hall 107 of the town hall. Societies from south-east and south-central Bulgaria are taking part, from the regions of Yambol, Sliven, Burgas, Haskovo and Stara Zagora. Yambol council is hosting the meeting, and deputy mayor Vasil Aleksandrov welcomed the guests.

The union runs mountain huts, shelters and tourist dormitories. Some high-mountain sites are hard to reach. Horses bring them supplies in every season, and snowmobiles in winter.

Venev told BTA about the huts: "Sometimes no one has paid attention to them for 35 years, and no budget has been set aside." He said income from hikers and overnight stays does not cover upkeep.

The BTU has sent proposals to almost every ministry for a programme to fund huts, infrastructure and trail marking. Earlier attempts with other ministries failed. Venev said the ministries have so far sent the union to the Ministry of Tourism.

The BTU is among the organisations covered by the Physical Education and Sports Act. The union expects more attention from minister Encho Keryazov, who is from Yambol. Venev said the next step is to renovate the mountain base and the infrastructure.

"Unfortunately, the process is slow, but the infrastructure cannot wait," Venev told BTA.

Asked whether the money in the 2027 state budget is enough, he said the BTU can work with 2, 200 or 20 million.

Several sites have already been surveyed, and cost estimates have been drawn up for them. Sites along the E3, E4 and E8 routes are the priority. One of the first to be repaired is the Planinski Izvori hut, which the BTU bought recently. It stands on the main ridge of the Stara Planina mountains, on the E3 route from Kom to Emine.

At the meeting, participants are discussing how to mark and maintain hiking and cycling routes, and how to get the trails ready for each season. Another topic is training local people to mark routes to the standards used in Bulgaria.

The union is also presenting its new digital platform. Tourists can use it to find their way, plan hikes and routes, get details about huts, shelters and dormitories, contact them directly and book. An interactive map shows tourist, natural, cultural and historic sights, with their location, opening hours, websites and weather.

On the platform, societies manage their members and documents and post calendars of events, which are public across the country. The towns of Shumen and Hisarya are interested in regional versions. These would list sights, places to stay, cultural sites and events run by councils, societies, sports clubs and cultural institutions.

The BTU has 149 tourist societies as members. They run clubs for hiking, cycling, water and ski tourism, caving and orienteering. The union's development strategy covers 12 years, and two have passed. Its goals are digitalisation, more members and drawing in young people.

Venev said more young people go to the mountains, but they often go alone, put together through social media, and sometimes unprepared. The union wants to draw them into organised tourism.

The chairman said the union's work is very hard without the municipalities, and local administrations are key to it. Interest in the BTU is growing, and Venev sees this as a sign that the organisation's standing has been restored.

The union also runs "Get to Know Bulgaria – 100 National Tourist Sites", which turns 60 this year. The movement has about 220 sites, and more tourist and cultural places want to join.

A National Coordination Council approves new sites. It has 14 representatives from the ministries of culture, education, tourism and sport, from BNT, BNR and other institutions. The council meets twice a year and tracks how many people visit the sites. Based on the commission's assessment, it decides which to drop and which to add.

The BTU monitors interest in the national sites and proposes new ones to the commission. Venev said being part of the movement makes sites easier to recognise and brings them more visitors.