The mayor of Sapareva Banya, Sasho Ivanov, was reelected in 2007 with 80% majority. He has publicly articulated the need for the area to avoid the mistakes of  overdevelopment seen in some other Bulgarian ski resorts. Many initiatives in eco and sustainable tourism in the area are progressing.

The investment in the road infrastructure before the development of new low rise hotels, chalets, apartments and tourist facilities is now a fact observed by all visitors to the region. The pholosophy of "roads before development" is the start of investment so that visitors can observe that the focus is on keeping the nature and attracting luxury ski, mountain, spa, conference and golf tourism. However development is not without debate and Panichishte has received some comment recently on alleged infringements on the processes for environmental assesments. The news section of this site is regularly updated on latest news on the Sapareva Banya area