Bulgaria drew great interest from German journalists

The presentation of Bulgaria under the motto “Get together” in the framework of the ITB exhibition in Berlin drew great interest from over 30 German journalists. Participants in the event were the Minister of Tourism Stela Baltova and Georgi Palahutev, the author of a tour guide on Bulgaria, published in Germany by the popular publishing house Dumont. They both presented Bulgarian traditional and new tourist products.

The focus is on the country as an all-year-round tourist destination, Minister Baltova said. The guests from Germany could extend their idea of Bulgaria as a predominantly sea summer destination and rediscover it as an ancient country with rich history, beautiful nature, offering a wide range of alternative forms of tourism. Information routes are growing in popularity among German tourists, she added.

Georgi Palahutev explained that information tours added a fresh view of the country in which the oldest processed gold in the world was found in Varna Necropolis. On Bulgarian territory are found archeological finds from at least seven historical eras and from the life of many ethnicities.  By number of immovable cultural monuments and artifacts – over 40,000, Bulgaria ranks third in Europe after Italy and Greece. There are over 7 million movable cultural values in the country. In the list of UNESCO’s tangible and intangible cultural and natural heritage are included 14 Bulgarian objects. This ranks Bulgaria among the top 20 countries in the world by cultural resources.

In recognition of this heritage the second largest city in Bulgaria – Plovdiv, was selected as European capital of culture in 2019.  The unique golden and silver treasures of the Thracians in the Bulgarian lands cause an unbridled furor when exhibited in international galleries and museums. They show the intransient intangible and tangible culture, of which the presentation of our country at the Berlin exchange tells.    

Palahutev also presented the production of rose oil, yoghourt, wine, bio products etc.

Minister Baltova pointed out to the German journalists that Germany was among the most important generating markets for Bulgarian tourism. In 2016 Germany was third in the ranking of the National Statistical Institute of visits of foreign tourists in Bulgaria with about 827,000 Germans, marking some 33% growth compared with 2015. Bulgaria had an extremely successful 2016 year for tourism, hitting an all-time record. According to data of the national statistics, the country was visited by over 8.2 million foreign tourists, which is about 13% growth on the most successful 2014 year so far, and compared with 2015 the growth exceeds 16%. The difference, compared with 2015 in absolute terms, is an increase by over 1.1 million foreign tourists. These results reflect on the revenues in the sector. In 2016 revenues from international tourism amounted to over BGN 6.4 billion (about EUR 3.3 billion) and the growth on 2015 was about 16%.

Preliminary data at present outline a rise in German tourists in Bulgaria in Summer 2017. Based on information from leading German tour operators, early bookings move within 22-45% growth compared with 2016.