Stanley, as he is well known to many in the Bulgarian hospitality and tourism industry, had a colorful professional career that lasted for more than 50 years. 

We remember well how he often quoted his first days as a bellboy in the resort of Albena where he started his path and developed his hospitality skills to serve customers, winkingly bringing back his memories, especially when the junior staff of today was not performing the way he imagined they should.   

New Otani, later Kempinski Zografski, and the opening of Sheraton Sofia in 1986 were pivotal milestones on his career path, acquainting him with the practices of international hospitality, the principles of honest people management and teaching him how to create professional visions.

In the 1990s, Stanley decided to step into the travel and tourism industry when he, together with his wife Svetlana, established Stanleycomforttravel, a fully licensed tour operator. Acting on the incoming and outgoing markets, he built profound relations with American partners when efficient airline ticketing wasn´t developed yet in his home country. He took politicians, community leaders and leisure travelers preferably to Nevada, where he enjoyed professional and personal relations to the highest governmental level. Since more than 10 years, Stanleycomforttravel is handling the hotel and transport logistics of the annual Eastern European Gaming Summit (Sofia), serving hundreds of international attendees every year.

Stanley served as Chapter President Bulgaria in the international travel industry association ASTA from 2002 to 2006 and represented his home country in various international ASTA conventions. He engaged himself voluntarily many times on the international stage of tourism conventions and trade shows, including in China. 

It was in the early 2000s, that his passion for the Bulgarian wellness and spa tourism evolved. He understood that this market segment would play a significant role in the future development of the country´s tourism. He created the National Association for Spa Tourism (NAST) through which he developed professional links to partners in Eastern Europe and beyond, preparing the base for the Balkan Spa summit. It was only recently that he became the official partner of the medical tourism platform bookingsmed.com, thanks to his engagement and reputation in this field. His wife Svetlana will continue the mission.

He was known to be a constructive critical member of the Council of Tourism in the Ministry.

In 2010, Stanley became one of the founding members of Skal International Sofia, taking on duties as a board member of this young local club of the international network of tourism professionals, dating back to 1934 (Paris). 

Even during the illness of recent months, Stanley never missed an opportunity to share his visions, not only for the business development but also for the evolution of the Bulgarian tourism industry. 

We dearly miss a reliable friend, and we shall fondly remember his wonderful contributions to our meetings. 

June 2022

Henning Krippendorff, President,

On behalf of the Executive Committee and members of Skal International Sofia

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