Minister Angelkova met with the Minister of Tourism of Indonesia at the Bulgarian stand of the largest show WTM in London

The Minister Angelkova talked with Arief Yahya, Minister of Tourism of Indonesia. The meeting was held at the Bulgarian stand of the largest show for professionals in tourism WTM in London.  A key focus of the discussion was the exchange of expertise in investment and summer tourism. For the first 9 months since the beginning of the year we report an increase of over 26% visitors from Indonesia to our country.  Also positive is the data on 2016 when there was a growth in tourists from the island country by 21.3 per cent, the Bulgarian minister announced.

She added that our country offers opportunities for different types of tourism such as cultural and historic, winter, balneological and spa tourism based on over 600 types of mineral springs, gourmet, rural tourism which would meet the taste and demands of Indonesian tourists. In order to promote Asian culture in Bulgaria the first Asian festival was held in Bulgaria this summer.   It was organized by 13 diplomatic missions, including the Embassy of Indonesia, in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism.

During the meeting in London the two ministers also discussed the opportunities for implementation of investment projects. Increasing investments in tourism is one of the key priorities in the ministry’s work, Minister Angelkova explained.  A Map of Investment Projects in Tourism has already been developed, which is available on the website of the ministry. The sector plays a growing role in Bulgaria’s economic development, as evident from the number of foreign tourists in Bulgaria and the steadily increasing revenues. For the first 9 months of the year foreign tourists in Bulgaria have increased by 7.7 % and account for some 7.5 million.  Revenues from international trips in the period January-August exceed BGN 5.2 billion, up by some 10%. In 2016, the sector and related economic activities in our country accounted for BGN 11.6 billion, contributing to about 13% of the country’s gross domestic product.