Tobacco Growers Become Spa and Wellness Experts

The villagers in the Rhodope Mountains who have been growing tobacco for generations have recently switched to a new profession, Standart daily writes. Spa tourism is becoming increasingly more popular in the region, especially in the village of Ognyanovo, Western Rhodopes famous for its hot mineral springs.

Over half of the locals started small family hotels, Russian site vrednovosti.comr eports. In 2002, 95 percent of the local population sustained themselves by tobacco and tourism was livelihood for only 4 percent. The number of the latter is expected to grow to 30-40 percent in the coming years.  

“Now we are feeling more eased, we make more money and toil less,” the villagers say. An increasing number of the locals prefer to invest in small home-like hotels instead of the risky tobacco growing business that makes you dependent on the capricious weather and volatile market. This summer all of the ten newly built hotels have been full to the brim, Standart daily writes.

 The situation has changed drastically in recent years as more and more guests from Greece and all over Bulgaria come to the village for balneological treatment. 

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