The National Tourism Council discussed the Programme for National Advertising for 2016

The National Tourism Council discussed today (23 July) the Programme for National Advertising for 2016. This is a milestone step as for the first time the programme is offered for discussion six months earlier than the period of its implementation. The meeting was presided by the Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova. The Deputy Minister Irena Georgieva and the Chair of the Consumer Protection Committee Dimitar Margaritov were among the speakers on some of the points in the agenda.   

The submitted written proposals are currently processed and all revised documents will be sent to the members of the Council. The participants in the meeting agreed that the promotional campaign for Summer 2016 should be launched now so that the country could be truly competitive on the world tourism market. „In the past months I had meetings with leading tour operators from France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and others and they were all unanimous that we should start advertising summer vacations as early as September because the tourists from our target markets plan their vacations from 6 to 12 months  in advance”, said Nikolina Angelkova. Sea and ski holidays are the traditional tourist products that the country offers, however marketing research shows that that the specialized forms of tourism are also attractive for tourists from the Bulgaria’s generating markets. Therefore, the Ministry will continue to tap the country’s potential for cultural and historical tourism as this could make Bulgaria more recognizable to the world. 

„Bulgarian tourists are a special focus in the 2016 Advertising Programme. This is an approach that we adopted in 2015 and we’ll continue to upgrade it in the next year”, stated Nikolina Angelkova. She explained that Bulgarian tourists have been somewhat neglected in the past though they are quite significant for the tourist sector. Neighboring countries are also a priority as well as countries from the remaining part of Europe. „Of course we’ll continue to attract tourists for distant perspective markets for Bulgaria and we are aware that this is a long-term process that will bring results in the next five years”, said the Minister.  

„Digital marketing is a leading approach in our national advertising strategy”, stressed Minister Angelkova. Some of the main activities include joint e-marketing with foreign tour operators from target markets where an increase in online queries is registered; drafting a project for electronic marketing for destination Bulgaria; introducing a unified online visual representation etc. The so called ‘personal touch’ is one other important aspect in the National Advertising Programme – promotional videos for Bulgaria will feature celebrities who will advertise our country in their homelands.

The active representation of Bulgaria at big international tourist exhibits, forums and other additional events remain a focus.  The country will be featured at about 40 international tourist exhibits depending on the budget. Thematic open-space exhibits will also be organized in target or generating markets. Other planned activities include strategic partnerships with international tour operators and low-cost airline companies as well as journalistic tours.

Data for summer 2015 was also presented at the Council’s annual meeting. Statistics show an increase in sales in the last days. The overall drop of Russian tourists is expected to reach 20%; however expectations for fewer tourists from Ukraine have not been met and a 5% increase of Ukrainian tourists has been registered. The forecasts for other markets are also favorable:  Germany (+5%), Great Britain (the 2-3% growth from last year remains the same) Turkey (+10%), Austria (+10 – 15%), Israel (+ 10%), France (+5%), the Scandinavian countries (about 2-3% growth), Greece (+5%), Romania (+3%) and others. A significant growth of 40% is expected from Moldova with an additional number of 30 000 tourists for the summer season.  

The Chair of the Consumer Protection Committee Dimitar Margaritov presented the work of the controlling body for the summer season. He explained that the quality of the alcoholic drinks is constantly monitored and to date 15 to 20 samples have been taken. The data of the Committee shows that so far 2000 checks in hotels and restaurants at the Black Sea coast have been carried out and more than 186 indictments have been issued. The Committee has opened consumer service offices in Burgas, Varna and Sozopol and has secured mobile consumer centers for most of the populated parts of the Black Sea coast where tens of

Data for the winter season was also presented to the Council. 1.180 foreign tourists have visited Bulgaria during the period December 2014-March 2015 which is an 8% growth compared to the 2014/2015 winter season. The business sector is unanimous that our country offers great possibilities for ski tourism from December till the beginning of April, yet bookings for March are fewer due to insufficient information. “We will promote the country as a ski destination with an active four-month season but we will also rely on the feedback and the active participation of the business sector and the municipal authorities”, said Minister Angelkova. She explained that Bulgaria’s winter resorts could be a year-round destination for international and interior tourism through diversification of the tourist product and the combining of different forms of specialized tourism – mountain, hiking, adventure and others.