Bulgaria joins Mastercard's Tourism Innovation Hub

Ministry of Tourism to leverage global technology company's technology and assets for tourism analysis and development in Bulgaria

Bulgaria's tourism minister has agreed with Mastercard to participate in the company's Tourism Innovation Hub, an international centre for tourism innovation based in Madrid that promotes the sustainable development of the sector in cities and countries seeking to use smart digital economy solutions to attract visitors. Minister Miroslav Borshosh signed the agreement for Bulgaria to join the Mastercard Tourism Innovation Hub with Mr. Nicola Villa - Executive Vice President, Strategic Growth and Global Head of Public Sector at Mastercard. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the prestigious ITB international tourism exhibition in Berlin, where both Bulgaria and Mastercard presented their tourism strategies and offers.

"Information remains strategically the most important tool for the development of a sector as competitive as tourism. The provision of up-to-date and easily accessible data in real time is important for all tourism stakeholders in this dynamically evolving environment," Minister Miroslav Borshosh stressed.

The free inclusion of the Ministry of Tourism in Mastercard's Tourism Innovation Hub (TIH) is a first step towards a new stage for the implementation of data-driven policy planning and execution at a national level. The Tourism Innovation Hub is an initiative to develop and transform the global tourism industry, making it inclusive of emerging markets, green and resilient to change, by providing innovative advice to governments and other diverse stakeholders in the tourism ecosystem.

The Tourism Innovation Hub partners with governments, public and private organizations around the world, including Greece, Spain, Croatia, Costa Rica and others, leveraging Mastercard's technology and analytics capabilities to develop a new sustainable business model for the benefit of all tourism industry stakeholders, including local small businesses in destinations.

Recently, Mastercard's analytics unit, the Mastercard Economic Institute (MEI), has reported through analysis of transactional and traffic data an exponentially growing interest in new destinations that combine the most popular tourist sites with attractive experiences for tourists in their vicinity. In this regard, Bulgaria has a significant potential to offer a rich mix for an ultimate quality tourism product, combining cultural and historical memory, musical traditions, wine and cuisine in combination with many other riches and not least the unique natural attractions. Both parties believe that this partnership will help position Bulgaria as a leading destination in Europe for 2025.

 "We welcome the Bulgarian government in this partnership with Mastercard Tourism Innovation Hub and see it as a decisive step towards strengthening digitalization in the country's tourism sector. Just after the big comeback of international travel, the joint venture will build a new narrative about Bulgaria and the experiences it has to offer", - Vanya Manova, Mastercard Manager for Bulgaria, Albania, North Macedonia and Kosovo stated.

Cooperation between the private and public sectors is more important than ever to promote seamless movement, inclusion and added value for consumers and small businesses.

Mastercard supports economies and empowers people in over 200 countries and territories around the world. They support a wide range of digital payments, making transactions secure, easy, smart and affordable. Their technologies, innovations, partnerships and networks combine a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments reach their potential.