Bulgaria was a partner country at the International Tourism Exhibition in Ekaterinburg

Bulgaria was a partner country at the most important specialised exhibition in the sector in the Ural Federal District of the Russian Federation, ‘Leto 2016’, which was held in the city of Ekaterinburg. The business representatives and the visitors took a great interest in the Bulgarian stand and the exposition was organised with the official support of the Federal Agency for Tourism of Russia (FAT), the Russian Tour Industry Union and leading institutions from the Ural region. The work of the forum was joined by the head of the FAT, Oleg Safonov, the Managing Director of the Ural Tourism Association (UTA) and others.

The Bulgarian information stand, organised by the Ministry of Tourism, was located on 24 sq. m in the most central part of the Ekaterinburg-Expo International Exhibition Centre. The participants were two tourist companies and the municipality of Velingrad, which presented Bulgaria’s potential for specialised balneo-therapeutic, spa and wellness services to the main tourism packages. On the first day of the exhibition there was a two-hour presentation of Bulgaria as a year-round destination, which was accepted with great interest by the visitors and the media.

The tour operators’ and end users’ attention to offers for travel and holidays in Bulgaria was mostly oriented to summer and sea, health and cultural and historical tourism. According to the tour operators in the region, working actively with our market, a 30-35% growth in the demand for holidays in Bulgaria has been reported and these preferences have already found expression in the increased bookings. The Fraport Representation in Bulgaria confirmed that charter flights from Ekaterinburg to the Bulgarian seaside airports are up 30% over last year, which is yet another indicator of the growing number of tourists. Participants in the exhibition emphasised that the increased demand was a result of the active contacts between the Ministry of Tourism of Bulgaria and the Federal Agency for Tourism of Russia and the Ural Tourism Association, as well as the measures for increasing the number of Russian tourists in Bulgaria, taken by both sides. The renewed activity of the Bulgarian Consulate General in Ekaterinburg, which was officially opened on 7^th April 2016, but started offering services as early as February this year, has contributed seriously along this line.

The exhibition in Ekaterinburg, which has already been present on the international market for 18 years, was held during the period of 7^th – 8^th April 2016. It welcomes about 10 thousand visitors from about 20 countries annually, at an average. Among the exhibitors are leading Russian and foreign tour operators, airlines and hotels, insurance companies, banks and tourist media. This year, the exhibition is covered by five central and regional televisions. One of the major topics is wellness. The traditional International Real Estate Exhibition REAL ESTATE EXPO is organised within Leto 2016.