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| Darren McAuley, Customer Services Manager, Balkan Holidays |
Our social media team sat down with Darren this week and asked him a variety of questions about Balkan Holidays and some of his own favourites, take a look at how it went...
1. Hi Darren, firstly thanks for joining us today, can you tell us a bit about yourself and as customer services manager, how you and your team interact with Balkan Holidays customers?
We are responsible for the day to day operations in resorts and
also the post departure issues that arise so we have constant
daily contact with our network of representatives and handling
agencies. This can involve dealing with issues such as lost
luggage, flight delays right up to more serious matters such as
clients who have been hospitalised or sustained injuries. We are
also responsible for the recruitment and training of all the
overseas staff in Bulgaria and conduct an extensive training
seminar prior to both winter and summer seasons.
2. As a Bulgarian company, Balkan Holidays specialises in holidays to the country, what are your thoughts on Bulgaria?
2. As a Bulgarian company, Balkan Holidays specialises in holidays to the country, what are your thoughts on Bulgaria?
Bulgaria holidays represent excellent value for money and is a destination with such diverse spheres of tourism. Not many countries
can boast of ski resorts, beach resorts, spa towns, historical
and archaeological sites, wine and monastery tours and of course
a city break to either Sofia or Plovdiv. As a tourist
destination Bulgaria certainly has everything to offer. I have
seen many changes in Bulgaria since my first season back in
1997, most obvious is the improvement in the quality and
standard of the accommodation. Resorts now have international
chains of hotels such as Hilton, Barcelo and Iberostar etc. Most
accommodation in resorts are a high standard of 3 & 4*
hotels at extremely competitive prices compared to other
destinations.
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| Bulgaria is home to International Hotel Chains like the Barcelo in Sunny Beach |
3. If you could describe your perfect Bulgarian holiday, what sort of itinerary could we expect to see?
The Rhodpe
mountains is a place I have a soft spot for, it is the first
place I ever visited and of course being a skier the resort of
Pamporovo is a particular favourite of mine. It is important as
a tourist to move away from the well know tourist resorts and
visit places like the Rila and Bachkovo Monasteries, the
Botanical Gardens at Balchik if you are on the Northern Coast or
the impressive Alexander Nevski Cathedral in Sofia.
4. If you could offer any advice to holidaymakers travelling to Bulgaria for the first time, what would you suggest?
4. If you could offer any advice to holidaymakers travelling to Bulgaria for the first time, what would you suggest?
Go
with an open mind and enjoy the experience of a different
culture, food and religion and this will certainly help to
enhance your holiday experience.
5. As you have lived in Bulgaria and visited the country many times since then, can you recommend any places and excursions our holidaymakers might enjoy?
5. As you have lived in Bulgaria and visited the country many times since then, can you recommend any places and excursions our holidaymakers might enjoy?
If you are on the coast it
would be a shame not to indulge yourself and enjoy the
Catamaran Cruise on the Black Sea. The sunset cruise is a
favourite of mine as you watch the sun setting over the resort.
Of course no visit to Sunny Beach would be complete without a
visit to Khans Tent. Nessebar is great in the evening for a meal
in the old town with its great selection of fish restaurants.
When in the winter resorts a trip through the pine trees on the
ski doo safari is a great way to enjoy an evening. In addition
we also have dedicated entertainers in all our resorts who have
a full programme of apres ski activities.
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| Delicious fresh fish can be enjoyed at one of the restaurants in old town Nessebar |
6. To finish off, in your
opinion, what is it that makes Balkan Holidays different from
the rest and ensures our clients have an enjoyable holiday with
us and keep returning year after year?
We are the Bulgarian
specialists and this is our main destination, nobody knows
Bulgaria like Balkan Holidays. All staff employed in Bulgaria are
local to the area so you have your own resident expert on hand
throughout your stay.
We hope you enjoyed our interview with Darren and we look forward to bringing you some more insight and news from Balkan Holidays very soon!
Customer Services Manager Darren McAuley can be contacted on
02075435582 or emailed at d.mcauley@balkanholidays.co.uk.
