The power failure that caused chaos in the Bulgarian resort of Sunny Beach last weekend is just one of many crises the country's seaside towns will face this summer, according to tourism experts.

The season's first visitors to the Black Sea resort were stranded in lifts and went without food and drink after restaurants and bars closed due to the blackout.

Supplies were restored on Monday but the overall problems of an overloaded infrastructure threatens to cause severe disruption.

Tourism specialists predict that a combination of power cuts, polluted beaches, low standards of construction, noisy building sites, poor service and bankruptcies will put the popular coastline under severe pressure.

"Huge problems lie ahead," said Mihail Popov, director of Bora Consult, a company that manages hotels in the region. "We are about to see the result of misdemeanours in the construction industry. Buildings go up so fast that standards are not maintained. It is a tragic situation."

Much of the infrastructure along the coast - including power supplies - was built 20 years ago and was designed for far fewer holidaymakers. The water treatment system at Golden Sands can successfully service 15,000 people, but not the current 40,000. The local water company said a new sewerage pipe should be built a mile out to sea before this year's main holiday season starts.

Venelin Zhechev, the deputy mayor of Varna, said: "If that doesn't happen, the resort may not open and the tourist season will be ruined." But, to date, nothing has been built.

Last year beaches became so polluted they had to be closed for a time. When a sub-standard water treatment station at Sunny Beach was unable to cope with torrential rain, the pumps were turned off and raw sewage contaminated water supplies to hotels and apartments.

At the time, Djevget Chakurov, Bulgaria's environment minister, said new sewerage systems for the Black Sea coast costing
£80 million were planned, but work has still not started.

Fears have been expressed that the overcrowding once suffered by Majorca could be repeated on the Black Sea. Hotels on the Spanish island had to be pulled down so that the infrastructure could be upgraded.

There is also evidence that tourists are thinking twice about heading for the Black Sea's cheap and cheerful resorts. The number of British and German visitors is down so far this year, while more Bulgarians are opting to go abroad. Bookings from Russian visitors have declined as well, following the introduction of cumbersome visa regulations.

In addition, hotel wages are now so meagre it is predicted there will be a labour shortage with the knock-on effect of poorer service.

Meanwhile, Anelia Krushkova, head of Bulgaria's state tourism agency, has said that many hotels face bankruptcy as a result of overdevelopment.

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