Deputy Minister Irena Georgieva takes part in the opening of the Young Wine Exhibition in Plovdiv

The Young Wine Exhibition has turned into a good tradition for Plovdiv, attracting not only leading winemakers but also many visitors from the country and abroad. Cultural-historical tourism and festivals feature among the preferred forms of niche specialized tourism in the region, being enjoyed by growing numbers of users. This was announced by the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Irena Georgieva, in Plovdiv during the opening of the forum’s 8^th edition.

The 3-day event offers various trials and culture events in 12 landmark sites in the Old City. 20% more tourists are expected this year. According to NSI stats, the number of guests staying at accommodation facilities in the region during the period of January-September 2016 totally amount to 366 000, which is an 11% increase compared to the same period of 2015. The increase in Bulgarian tourists is 13% and 7% in international ones, with revenues generated from night-stays of international tourists registering an 18% growth, it was announced by the Deputy Minister during the ceremony.

„Plovdiv is an example of sustainable development in tourism, owing to the cultural-historical and other types of niche tourism. This is the place where the first wine map in the country was created“, Deputy Minister Georgieva said further. The tours are an initiative of the Municipality, local wine cellars, hoteliers, and tour operators, covering the areas around Parvenets, Hrabrino, Krichim, Brestovitsa, Ognyanovo, etc. A notable recognition of these preserved tradition was given when Plovdiv hosted the esteemed wine competition Concours Mondial de Brussels in the spring of this year, with 50 countries and 9 000 products having participated. Bulgarian winemakers won 40% of the rewards, which happened for the second year running in this competition.

The Ministry of Tourism will keep supporting active development of the diverse forms of niche tourism. Interest in the destinations offering authentic food and beverages in our country has been registered by both traditional generating markets such as Russia, the Ukraine, Italy, Czech Republic, Serbia, the UK, as well as from more remote areas in the world – China, Japan, and the USA. Bulgaria already has partnership experience from the creation of joint tourism routes with countries involved in the Danube Strategy – Along the Way of Roman Emperors and Along the Way of Wine.

The exhibition’s opening was attended by the chair of the Council on Tourism-Plovdiv, Eng. Lyubozar Fratev, organizer of the event, jointly with the Municipality, the mayor Ivan Totev, the Chair of the Parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee, Menda Stoyanova, the Regional Governor, Zdravko Dimitrov, and others.