Commissioner Corina Creţu welcomed the establishment of the new Ministry of Tourism

09 December 2014

The European Commission, represented by the Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Creţu, supports the creation of a strategic vision for the development of our tourism industry with horizon to 2020, as through the development of such a European document will be able to specify the priorities and needs of the sector and maximum use of the possibilities of EU funding. This was announced by Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova after meeting Commissioner Corina Creţu, which took place today in Brussels. Commissioner Creţu welcomed the establishment of the new ministry and promised support for its activities from the European structures.

“It is important to have a clear vision and a particular roadmap for the future development of our tourist industry, as it is one of our main priorities” Angelkova highlighted. The strategic document should be ready by the end of 2015 to enable the Ministry to be included as a beneficiary in the allocation of EU funds over the next years.

The meeting also discussed the possibilities of creating special financial instruments for the tourism industry. According to Angelkova, it is necessary to identify all the possibilities to support the initiatives of the business and not just rely on direct EU funding.

I invited Commissioner Creţu in Bulgaria at a roundtable organized to discuss in details these opportunities, said Minister Angelkova. EU Commissioner Corina Creţu supported the idea next year Sofia to host the first meeting of European ministers of tourism. Representatives of the World Tourism Organization to the United Nations, as well as ministers of other countries will be invited to participate in the forum.

Earlier today, Minister Angelkova met in Brussels the Vice-President of the European Commission Kristalina Georgieva. They discussed the specifics of financing in the field of tourism and how Bulgaria to be maximum promoted as a year-round tourist destination with a unique nature and specific features - spa and spa services, and other bioproducts. Kristalina Georgieva also warmly welcomed the establishment of the independent Ministry of Tourism to promote sustainable development of the sector.

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