Minister Angelkova participated in the 17th European Tourism Forum in Vienna

The Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova took part in the 17^th European Tourism Forum in Vienna. This event is held for two days – 1^st and 2^nd October and is considered to be the biggest event in the sphere of tourism during the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU. Elżbieta Bieńkowska, European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs and Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General of the UN World Tourism Organization were among the official guests. The forum was hosted by Elisabeth Köstinger, the minister of sustainable development and tourism of the Republic of Austria.

Austria is one of the leading markets for inbound tourism in Bulgaria as the number of visits of Austrian citizens in our country within the period January-August 2018 exceeds 93 thousand. In 2017, the EU Member-states continued to be the most important market generating foreign tourism for Bulgaria with a relative share of 61,4% and more than 5,450 tourist visits in total, which constitutes a rise of 8,2%.

Minister Angelkova participated in this forum at the invitation of her colleague Elisabeth Köstinger. The European Tourism Forum is usually held in October in the country presiding the Council of the EU.