Minister Angelkova holds work meeting with HE Eric Rubin, US ambassador in our country

Minister of Tourism, Nikolina Angelkova, held a work meeting with Eric Rubin, US ambassador in Bulgaria. The discussion focused mainly on the tools to promote travel between the two countries and on the investment opportunities in Bulgaria. The Minister presented to the guest the annual calendar of events being prepared by the institution for the coming year. One of the first Ministry initiatives is in February 2018, when a meeting of the tourism ministers will be held during Bulgaria’s presidency of the EU Council. The meeting is one of the highest ranked forums.

The second International Congress on World Civilizations and Creative Tourism will take place in November as well, announced Minister Angelkova. CNN’s star anchor, Richard Quest, has been invited as moderator of the event, negotiations with him being in advanced stage.

We are actively working to promote in the USA the cultural-historical, spa, sea, winter, and other types of tourism one can practice in our country, the Minister added. She indicated that the ministry carried out an advertising campaign in the USA in recent months, with billboards promoting Bulgarian tourism. The boards were placed in New York, Boston, Washington, LA, and Las Vegas, there were online marketing activities as well. We have not had advertising activities in America thus far, while this year we had the opportunity to promote the Bulgarian product in some of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities in the space of two months, commented the Minister.

When advertising Bulgaria, it is good to highlight its nature and the tourism opportunities that enable people to get to know the country, such as ornithology t tourism, recommended HE Eric Rubin. He further noted that it’s necessary to make American tourists aware that Bulgaria is a safe tourism destination.

Minister Angelkova stressed her belief in the link between tourism and the film industry as a way to attract more international visitors. She and the diplomat were unanimous that attracting more international film productions would have a beneficial effect on tourism in our country. Minister Angelkova noted that Bulgaria already has a track record in creating blockbuster films starring superstars like Antonio Banderas, Silvestre Stallone, Morgan Freeman, and Jason Statham

The Minister and HE Rubin commented that the opportunity to open a direct flight between Bulgaria and USA would boost the development of tourism between the two countries.

Visits of international tourists from the USA during January - October 2017 are nearly 80 000, registering a 10% growth compared to the same period of last year. It is the approximate number of visitors for the entire previous year. This puts the USA among the leading inbound tourism markets for Bulgaria.

The data on Bulgarian travel to America also shows growth for the 10 months of 2017. Nearly 20 000 of our compatriots visited the country beyond the ocean, growing by 19,5 per cent compared to the same period of last year.