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The 23rd edition of the International Tourism Fair Holiday & Spa Expo kicked off in Bulgaria's capital Sofia.

It will be held under the patronage of Mayor Boyko Borissov. The exhibition will be open until February 24.

This year Holiday & Spa Expo welcomes representatives of more than 200 tour-operator companies, sector organizations, tourist resorts, hotels and specialized education and training facilities.

Special emphasis is placed on the participation of spa centers, resorts, and hotels and on spa and fitness equipment manufacturers.

Construction works on the territory of Sunny Beach resort will stop on May 15, mayor Nikolai Trifonov said.

The ban will be valid during the entire summer season, Dnevnik newspaper reported. It will end in September, once tourists start leaving the resort.

For Nessebar, the new regulations will be in force starting June 1. Once constructions stops, owners have to ensure safety of the sidewalks surrounding the buildings.

During the summer all heavy machinery needs to be taken out of the resorts.

In May construction works will also cease in Pomorie municipality, though the first tourists there are expected to arrive in April.

If construction works are underway after the announced dates, owners will be fined. In Primporsko the fine totals 1000 leva, mayor Dimitar Dimitrov said. Construction works are occurring on more than 50 hotels in the city.

More than 700 companies from 37 countries have joined the AGRA 2006 expo in Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city.

The forum was opened on Tuesday by the Bulgarian agriculture head, Nihat Kabil, with the aim to present the accomplishments of Bulgarian farmers to potential partners.

Of all 762 participating firms 308 are from the host country, 93 are Italian, 71 - German.

Other represented countries include Holland, Greece and Turkey

Starting June 5 all bank accounts will be replaced with new numbers, representatives of the Bulgarian National Bank said.

The new internationally accepted standard International Bank Account Number (IBAN) will be introduced, Focus news agency reported. IBAN is generated according to the international bank accounts standard.

In Bulgaria IBAN will apply for both international and local transactions. The concept behind IBAN was created in the European banking standards committee. IN Bulgaria IBAN is accepted by the national standardisation committee.

Each country that accepts the system determines on its own the specific form and length of the code based on some international criteria. The system facilitates bank transactions and decreases the number of mistakes.

Until March 1 2006 all banks will generate IBAN codes for their clients. They will also have to inform clients of the new standards.

Bulgaria should join the Union in 2007 - my country already regards you as a EU member, Czech Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek told his Bulgarian counterpart Sergey Stanishev in Prague.

Stanishev is on his first visit to Czech Republic that joined the EU in the fifth wave of enlargement.

During his talks with Paroubek Stanishev pointed out the positive upward tendency noticed in the development of Bulgarian-Czech relations. He underlined they will be further enhanced on the basis of shared values and common foreign policy interests as the Czech Republic is an important and stable partner to Bulgaria.

Prime Minister Paroube also stated that the Czech Republic will remain a good friend of Bulgaria, one that will always give a helping hand.

Bulgaria's prime minister expressed his gratitude to the Czech Republic for the support offered in the process of European integration. "It is something deeply appreciated not only by politicians but by the whole society. The EC is strict towards Bulgaria and will not allow compromises - a fact that motivates the government to be even more diligent in the implementation of the commitments taken before the EU and in the effective preparation of the country for EU membership," Stanishev said.

Stanishev gave his Czech counterpart a report summarizing what has been achieved by the Bulgarian institutions in the process of European integration.

The situation in the Balkans and South Eastern Europe and the perspectives before the countries in the region were also among the highlights of the meeting. The two government leaders pledged their support for the European and Euro-Atlantic perspective of the Western Balkans countries.

The two prime ministers will inaugurate a Bulgarian-Czech Business Forum, where Bulgaria's prime minister presented the country's opportunities to the Czech business.

The international exhibition Security 2006 is taking place in Sofia under the aegis of Bulgaria's Interior Ministry Rumen Petkov. The expo opened February 14 will continue to February 18. The 13th edition of the exhibition once again attracted the attention of many foreign and local participants

Plovdiv has the potential to develop cultural tourism, US ambassador to Bulgaria John Beyrle said.

The rich history and archaeology of the city make Plovdiv suitable destination for historic tourism Beyrle said. This is Beyrle's first visit to the city since his arrival in Bulgaria.

Beyrle met Plovdiv mayor Ivan Chomakov yesterday to discuss business partnership, the Bulgarian news agency reported.

The US ambassador and Chomakov discussed possibilities for US investment in the city. Talks focused on the Plovdiv administration, care for the old part of town and its archaeological sites, and infrastructure projects launched in May 2006 Chomakov said

If Bulgaria's candidacy for Winter Olympics host reaches the second selection round, the state will allocate $ 500 000 for the project.

All needed documentation has been submitted before the deadline and the evaluation of the International Olympic Committee is expected, head of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) Stefka Kostadinova said.

Failures in the initial application can be corrected during the second selection round, Kostadinova said. A new management team of the Winter Olympics committee will be selected soon, the Bulgarian National Radio reported.

The new names will be announced after the end of the Turin Olympics, head of the State Agency for Youth and Sport Vessela Lecheva said. The committee also needs better projects.

Lecheva said Sofia qualifies for Olympics host but has been underestimated. In the project Bulgaria's capital will host the games together with Borovets and Bansko ski resorts.

Bulgaria has a significantly improved business climate but needs more investments, according to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

It has issued a report that says the slow implementation of the latest reforms has a negative effect on the Bulgarian business.

Bulgaria also needs to modernize its infrastructure, boost energy efficiency, and manage EU funds more efficiently, EBRD recommended.

The Bank warned that many of the local companies are not well prepared for the planned EU accession.

EBRD is the largest single investor to Bulgaria, with a commitment to pour EUR 1.3 B into some 93 projects.

Property investment in Bulgaria has an edge over a number of its European rivals in that with a thriving ski industry, it is able to attract uninterrupted interest throughout the year.

Sofia currently offers some of the best options for investors, with house prices increasing dramatically in line with the capital city's rise to prominence in the European community. It is generally thought that EU accession will form the final piece of the jigsaw and that it will allow Sofia to compete with other European capitals as a commercial centre and tourist haven.

Already offering good prospects because of high purchasing prices, Sofia has also proved popular in the buy-to-let sector with opportunities for extremely competitive rental income.

With rental returns of up to 12 per cent, however, property in Bulgaria's ski resorts has been attracting a huge amount of attention in recent years and this is set to continue as the country's reputation for winter sports is advanced.

The Times has pointed out that low property prices and inexpensive ski passes mean an investment in a resort such as Bansko can be extremely lucrative, with thousands of ski and snowboard enthusiasts choosing Bulgaria ahead of more familiar countries such as France, Austria and Switzerland.

The ski season in the Bulgarian mountain ranges can last from mid-December to early April meaning that investors can be guaranteed returns on property for a good third of the year. With many choosing to exploit rising house prices, investors are also making considerable gains by selling on properties while others are waiting for an anticipated boom in the aftermath of EU accession in 2007 or 2008.

Speaking to the Times, Amar Sodhi, managing director of Avatar International, revealed that he was currently marketing property in Bansko and that investors are finding they get good value for money in the area.

"Property prices here are much lower than those in the Alpine regions, so apartments have excellent letting potential. Bansko has the best snow record and longest ski season of all the Bulgarian resorts," he said.

With construction regulations currently affecting property investment in the Black Sea region, ski resorts have certainly proved a popular option with UK investors and the prospect of the Winter Olympics coming to Bulgaria in 2014 has only added to popular awareness of Bulgaria as a leading country for winter sports.

Opportunities for commercial property investment have also become more available as the likes of Bansko and Borovets become increasingly popular as tourist resorts, while off-plan and residential property investments continue to offer potentially lucrative yields.