Source: Moreto.net
We publish an interview with Assoc. Prof. Dr Todor Radev, President of Varna University of Management, given to a journalist from the Varna-based media outlet Moreto.net.
Two-thirds of all tourist overnight stays in Bulgaria take place at the seaside. This gives grounds to call Varna the tourism capital of the country. This was stated by Assoc. Prof. Todor Radev, President of Varna University of Management, ahead of the ninth edition of Tourism Expo “Destination Varna 2025”, reported a Moreto.net correspondent.
He commented that the problem of staff shortages in Bulgaria’s tourism sector is becoming increasingly severe.
“As higher education institutions in the field of tourism, we have always believed that this issue cannot be resolved through short-term import of workers for a few months in the summer. Many of them are not qualified. The best solution is to attract international students, but unfortunately in our country the visa process is very burdensome and cumbersome, which deters many. A student who comes here to study can work every summer at the seaside, gaining experience and becoming ever more skilled. This way, the staffing problem can be solved,” Assoc. Prof. Radev told Moreto.net.
He added that the greatest demand is for restaurant and kitchen staff. There are not enough well-trained chefs. In recent years, the shortage has also led to a dramatic rise in salaries for head chefs, reaching 4,000–5,000 BGN and more.
According to Assoc. Prof. Radev, when it comes to working in a large kitchen, the ability to handle food products is far from sufficient.
“Especially in large hotels and resorts, a kitchen is already a small enterprise in itself. We train our students not only to be able to work with products, but also to organise people, to be leaders, to know how to calculate ingredients properly and determine the cost price of food. They study human resource management, so that they know how to work with people and motivate them. Sometimes a large kitchen employs 80–100 people,” said the VUM President.
He believes that robots will increasingly enter the hotel and restaurant business, but they will not entirely replace the human factor.
“It is the human being who makes the connection with the guest. A robot can serve out of curiosity, but this is the hospitality industry. It takes a person to extend their own hospitality,” said Assoc. Prof. Radev.
