Nikolina Angelkova meets her Serbian counterpart, Rasim Ljajic

Perspectives for bilateral cooperation in tourism were discussed in Belgrade between the Minister of Tourism, Nikolina Angelkova, her Serbian counterpart responsible for trade, tourism, and telecommunications, Rasim Ljajic, who is also a deputy prime minister. It is the first official meeting of Ljajic after he was reappointed to his position.

Minister Angelkova pointed out that Serbian tourists are among the most numerous foreign nationals traditionally visiting our country. During 2016, the record-breaking year for Bulgarian tourism, they were nearly 375 000, an 8% growth compared to 2015. The growth trend in the two-way tourism flow is sustainable but there is still untapped potential, she emphasized.

A cooperation agreement in tourism will be signed between Bulgaria’s Ministry of Tourism and Serbia’s Ministry of Trade, Tourism, and Telecommunications. Further, a tourism presentation of Bulgaria in Serbia and of Serbia in Bulgaria will be arranged in either September or October, it was announced during the discussion.

Bulgaria and Serbia also pay a lot of attention to their promotion as a joint destination for remote markets, it was announced during the meeting. The process will be sped up by the creation of joint products, itineraries, and marketing for the users of tourism services from China, India, Japan, South Korea, and other countries, with the direct flight link between Sofia and Belgrade being a definite plus in this endeavor.