Minister Angelkova: Israel is an important and perspective foreign partner for our country

Israel is an important and promising partner for our country. We expect that all efforts will result in a deeper cooperation and increase in the number of tourists between the two countries.  This was said by Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova in the conversation with Yariv Levin, Minister of Tourism of Israel. Both ministers held a working meeting in the framework of the 22^nd General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). We should note that the relationships between Bulgaria and Israel in the last years have significantly intensified and deepened and turned into a strategic partnership, the minister said. She added that the official high-level visits in the last years are an important factor for that.

The trend in the mutual tourist visits to both countries is positive. In the period from January to July the tourist visits from Israel to Bulgaria have increased by 10% compared to the same months of last year, reaching up to 113 thousand. For the year 2016 the visits were more than 183 ths,  which is by 18.4% more than a year earlier. The main part of the Israeli tourists arrive in Bulgaria by plane, charter flights are carried out to our main airports in Sofia, Varna, Burgas and Plovdiv. They often choose cultural sites, which is why Plovdiv has been a very popular destination for them recently.

The Embassy of Israel actively assists in the promotion of tourism and in the last two years it was among the motive forces of the initiatives “You think you know Bulgaria” and “The tastes of the world”, Minister Angelkova noted. She added that in view of the tremendous importance of the Israeli market for Bulgaria, the Ministry of Tourism regularly participates in the tourist exhibition IMTM in Tel Aviv, Israel. In addition to this, the ministry regularly organizes journalistic cognitive tours for the media of Israel. Currently a procedure is under way for the selection of organizer of these tours this year and after its termination we will have the opportunity to provide you with more information.

At the moment Israel is developing the initiative “Jerusalem Garden” together with Sofia Municipality. It intends to build a playground in the South Park at Vitosha Blvd., which should be ready in 2018 and will become the property of Sofia Municipality.