Bulgaria's Sunny Beach to be summer 2020's 'new Magaluf' after coronavirus lockdown

Bulgaria’s Sunny Beach is set to become this summer's ‘new Magaluf’ after the coronavirus lockdown has ended.

The resort, on Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, is known for its sand dunes, water sports and crazy nightlife.

It has become a hit travel destination for Brit holidaymakers in recent years and saw as many as 5 million tourists in 2019.

Bulgaria, like most holiday destinations, is currently under coronavirus lockdown but the country has one of the lowest confirmed Covid-19 counts in Europe with just over 2,000 cases and less than 100 deaths.

The country’s success in managing the virus has turned the eye of travel experts who tip Bulgaria, and Sunny Beach, to be the 'It' party destination for Brits ahead of summer 2020.

Nicky Kelvin, the director of content at travel website The Points Guy, has shared his predictions with Daily Star Online.

Nicky said that although party destinations like Magaluf, Kavos, Ayia Napa and Sunny Beach tend to be lumped together, they’re in fact very different.

He said Spain’s high death toll of more than 27,000 could mean the lockdown in places like popular with Brits having "heavier restrictions for longer."

The Points Guy told Daily Star Online: "The lockdown in Spain has been particularly extreme and you could imagine the extension of these measures meaning hotspots like Mallorca, Ibiza, Tenerife and the Costa del Sol having heavier restrictions for longer."

He added: "Greece is set to start easing lockdown measures on May 4 with a day of zero deaths reported and the Greek minister of tourism had said Greece may open borders to tourists as early as July, but not to all countries.

"With a high concentration of the virus in the UK you could easily see Brits being banned this summer.

"It could also spell the emerge or dominance of other resorts if those countries decide to relax rules ahead of others.

"For example could we see the Bulgarian government dropping all restrictions and a glut of Brits heading to Sunny Beach in search of a good time?

"In the short term for sure, most of these destinations, if accessible at all, will have controls on who and how many can visit and rules in place to enforce social distancing."

Daily Star Online also spoke to Sunny Beach Takeover, a Bulgarian events company that specialises in parties in Bulgaria.

Sunny Beach Takeover said it hopes to open the doors to 'super club' DGV soon but will will act responsibly and adhere to any government recommendations

DGV is the biggest club on the strip and has had a huge refurbishment ahead of the summer.

The club is planning a huge event, The Grand Opening, which will showcase the venue once the lockdown ends, and despite current restrictions, is still booking big DJs for the season.

A spokesman told Daily Star Online: "We expect that the season will start a few weeks later, but could go on a whole lot longer than normal.

"Anyone who’s had to cancel their holiday in May or June can be re-booking to September.

"There may be some restrictions in place after we all open up again, worldwide for the hospitality sector.

"For us in Sunny Beach we also have to wait and see in the coming weeks what the government decide regarding restrictions after opening. We of course will follow those guidelines.

"In terms of events and partying changing after the lockdown, if you’re coming on holiday with your friends it’s not going to make a difference whether there’s a smaller crowd in a club, your holiday is made with the people you travel with and meet.

"Massive DJs are still being booked, new events for 2020 and even DGV, the main nightclub in resort, moving into a brand new state of the art venue – 2020 is going to be a big year in Sunny Beach!

"So whilst it feels all a bit doom and gloom at the minute, everyone is still working hard to make sure when the lockdown ends and people are able to come to Sunny Beach, we’re ready!!"

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