Minister Angelkova holds a work meeting with Academic Assaf Hadjiev, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC)

Minister of Tourism, Nikolina Angelkova, held a work meeting with Academic Assaf Hadjiev, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC). Discussed during the meeting were the tourism cooperation opportunities. Minister Angelkova presented to Acad. Hadjiev the strong results reported by our country in terms of visits of international tourists. Since the year’s start nearly 7,5 million international guests game to our country, registering a 7,7 per cent growth, explained the Minister. Also positive are the data about tourists from member-states of the Organization for Black Sea Economic Cooperation (OBSEC), with PABSEC being a body thereof. During the first nine months of 2017, a total of over 3,5 million visited our country from the Organization’s member-states – Greece, Romania, Azerbaijan, Albania, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, and the Ukraine. They have grown by nearly 6%, accounting for nearly half of the incoming tourist flow to our country. Bulgaria is also a PABSEC member.

The Ministry of Tourism is a coordinator of the Organization’s Task Group for Cooperation in Tourism, said Minister Angelkova, adding that in that role the country will organize on June 14, 2018 a meeting of OBSEC ministers responsible for tourism. She clarified further that the event will part of the calendar of Bulgaria’s presidency of the EU Council.

Acad. Hadjiev indicated that the Organization is attaching great importance to the tourism sector in the Black Sea region. He announced that in 2018 PABSEC will be celebrating the 25^th anniversary of its establishment. In this context we are looking for a partner on the part of the Ministry of Tourism to arrange joint events in the sector, further said Acad. Hadjiev.

Minister Angelkova and Acad. Hadjiev also discussed the development opportunities for cruise tourism in the Black Sea region.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) was established as a result of the fundamental political changes in the late 1980’s when the Black Sea region countries reappeared on the global stage. The region countries’ search for ways to tackle the challenges associated with national development and European integration traced out the road to the joining of their efforts to transform the Black Sea region into a zone of stability and peace. Taking advantage of the geographic proximity and the shared cultural-historical heritage, the region countries accelerated the establishment of bilateral and multilateral relations.