Bulgaria and Türkiye strengthen cooperation in the tourism sector

Minister Dimitrov held a working meeting with Mehmet Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye

 Minister of Tourism Ilin Dimitrov and Mehmet Ersoy, Minister of Culture and Tourism of Türkiye, discussed the possibility of creating a common Balkan tourism product aimed at third and distant markets at a joint working meeting. They held the talks in London during the World Travel Market (WTM) international tourism exhibition. They discussed the possibilities for more intensive contacts between the business representatives.

Türkiye is a priority partner of our country in the field of tourism, we need to strengthen contacts between representatives of the private business, because our countries are not real competitors and will only benefit from cross-border cooperation in tourism, said Minister Dimitrov.

The two sides agreed to organize the 4th session of the tourism committee between ministries in charge in 2023 in Türkiye. We are willing to discuss agreements between major Bulgarian tourism industry associations and the Turkish TÜRSAB, TÜROB, etc., which will be the basis for joint implementation of various initiatives to promote tourism, the minister said.

Among the highlights of the talks were the development of joint products for distant markets based on our cultural heritage and the cooperation of the two countries under the Interreg 2021-2027 programme.

Türkiye is in the top 3 markets for inbound and the number 1 market for outbound tourism. Statistics show that more than 1.4 million Bulgarian tourists travelled to Türkiye in 2021. The same number will be reached in 2022 according to preliminary data. In 2022, more than 359,527 Turkish tourists came to Bulgaria, a 59% increase compared to 2021.