Bulgarian Fitness Industry: Policies, Processes and Providers

This chapter interrogates the changing nature of fitness provision in Bulgaria: from the predominantly collective forms of provision and consumption until 1990s to the current more individual and deregulated market in urban settings. The study utilises an inductive qualitative methodology and builds on two data sources: (i) a comprehensive literature review; and (ii) interviews with key fitness providers. The current market-based fitness provision is driven primarily by widely dispersed and diverse private actors. The fitness industry in Bulgaria lacks the level of formalisation and regulation that exists elsewhere in Europe. In addition, the lack of systematic information about fitness participation makes any planning and delivery of fitness services challenging. New emerging processes signal for impending changes with political, institutional and structural implications for the sector.