Croatia’s minister of tourism to Minister Angelkova: You are making Bulgarian tourism recognizable worldwide. I salute that

The Minister of Tourism, Nikolina Angelkova, held a work meeting with Gari Capelli, Republic of Croatia’s tourism ministers. The two conversed during the Tourism and Economic Growth summit meeting of the ministers of tourism in the EU member-states in Sofia.

Minister Capelli welcomed the Ministry of Tourism’s efforts to make Bulgarian tourism products recognizable on the global market. He expressed his satisfaction with the establishment of a standalone ministry of tourism in Bulgaria, which acknowledges the sector’s importance in the country, and also stated his preparedness for bilateral cooperation.

Minister Angelkova presented to her Croatian counterpart the positive data about the sector’s development in Bulgaria. Visits of international tourists exceeded 8.8 mil. throughout 2017. The reported growth is 7.6% compared to the previous year. In total, over 630 700 international visitors came to Bulgaria last year. We have registered a growth of over 26% of tourists from Republic of Croatia, who visited Bulgaria in 2017. 23 000 Croatian tourists chose our country for their vacations. Thus, Croatia ranks 35st among the biggest incoming destinations in our country, noted Minister Angelkova.

Bulgaria’s presidency of the EU Council is an opportunity, which gives us the chance to highlight the role of tourism as a sustainable factor for economic growth and as a bridge between people, countries, and cultures. The EU Council presidency is a wonderful opportunity to promote our country as a four-season tourism destination, stated the Bulgarian minister. Get-to-know tours are planned in all Western Balkan countries in the second half of 2018, she noted further, adding that we are planning to showcase in Croatia the opportunities for sea-, cultural-historical, medical spa and spa tourism in our country.

The two ministers also discussed the development potential of our country for film tourism. Many Bollywood films have been shot in Bulgaria at an exceptionally good price performance. We are expecting the inclusion of digital technologies to contribute positively to the development of tourism in our country, stated Minister Angelkova, explaining that the Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism is the first one on an international level to provide a service enabling direct sharing of tourism sites via Viber’s Chat Extension.

Also discussed was the opportunity to intensify flight service to remote destinations, which would contribute to the increase tourism exchange among countries. Angelkova and Capelli stated that tourism is a joint products and cooperation among government institutions, private organizations, and local communities is important for it.