Minister Angelkova: A special QR code will inform the users of their chosen tour operator, hotel or mountain guide

The Minister received a prize from the Union of Veterans of Bulgarian Civil Aviation

A special QR code will forward users to the National Tourist Register in order to be informed of their chosen tour operator, hotel, catering and entertainment establishment or mountain guide. The code will be placed on the statutory certificates required by law to be obtained by all of them in order to perform activity. When scanned, it will forward the tourists to the data of the respective site in the registry. This way, anyone who travels will receive the information they need through their smartphones. This was stated by the Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova at the Club - Museum of Aviation.

Minister Angelkova explained that through the code the users will be able to verify if their chosen tour operator has the statutory insurance. They can currently do this but through the website of the Ministry of Tourism, by entering the National Tourist Register. In the month before the expiration of the insurance, the name of the tour operator "lights up" in orange, and after it expires - in red. This helps tourists to orient themselves when deciding to make holiday reservations, the minister said. She also said that the administration would also receive a signal when the tour operator's insurance limit was raised sharply. In this way, we will provide additional protection for tourists because the practice of recent years has shown that often after a sharp increase in the limit, tour operators declare insolvency.

At the annual meeting of the Bulgarian Airlines Association (ABA), the Minister Angelkova received a prize from the Union of Veterans of Bulgarian Civil Aviation for contribution to the preservation of the historical heritage of Bulgarian Aviation and the honorary sign of ABA on the occasion of the 70th Anniversary of Bulgarian Civil Aviation. I cordially thank for the awards, they are a high recognition, which I accept not only as a personal evaluation of my work but also for the team of the Ministry of Tourism, the Minister added.

Last year, the total number of visits by foreigners in Bulgaria was nearly 8.9 million, which is by more than 1.5 million over our population and we reported a growth of over 7% compared to 2016, said the Minister Angelkova. The results of the first month of 2018 are very good, with more than 437,000 foreign tourists visiting Bulgaria in January, 19% growth over the same month a year earlier. She added that only Sofia airport had served nearly 6.5 million passengers and reported a growth of 30%.

Air transport is one of the safest and fastest transport links preferred by billions of tourists, Minister Angelkova said. We should not forget also the activity of the local authorities to open up more and more airlines, which will ensure more tourists and investors for the country, the Minister Angelkova said. She highlighted the successful work of the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications for the development of aviation and all modes of transport in the country. We all have a common interest that our country is a recognizable and preferred destination and we will unite our efforts in building its positive image", the Minister said.