Minister Angelkova took part in a forum of Bulgarian and Russian twinned towns in Golden Sands
The Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova took part in a forum of Bulgarian and Russian twinned towns in Golden Sands, which was organized on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the resort.
This event is a good opportunity to discuss the prospects for mutually beneficial contacts in tourism, the minister stated and added that the resort and the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in general were preferred for vacation and recreation by many Russian tourists.
Nikolina Angelkova emphasized that Russia was a very important generating market for the Bulgarian tourism industry. In 2016, which was record-high for the sector with over 8.2 million visits of foreign tourists, based on NSI statistics, the Federation ranked fourth with 580 thousand visits and about a 20% rise versus 2015, and in the summer months the rise reached 30% in terms of persons coming for vacation and recreation.
However, there are even greater opportunities and we continuously work to attract more tourists from Russia. Our country’s potential as a year-round destination is much higher, with various offers for specialised services, which successfully combine with mass recreation. This includes offers for excursions across Bulgaria, balnelogical and spa services, visits of golf compounds along the Black Sea Coast, cultural and historical tours, festival programmes, gourmet and wine tastings, information routes, ethnographic events, etc., Minister Angelkova specified.
She expressed confidence that this season would also exhibit good indicators, which could even exceed the last year’s record. The expectations are for a 7-10% rise for the year and we have been pro-actively working for it, jointly with businesses and our foreign partners, Angelkova added and announced that booked early flights and charter lines were a fact. In the words of the minister, our country welcomes the option for a charter line between Samara and Varna and the ministry will continue participating actively in every forum for promotion of Bulgarian and Russian relations.
In her view, a high share of Russian tourists come for summer tourism but thanks to the routes to the fortresses on the Black Sea Coast their number is rising. These projects help boost cultural and historical tourism which in practice promotes Bulgaria as a year-round destination, she added and recalled that in order to facilitate our Russian guests from 1 February 2016 the ministry opened a special telephone line for them: +359 700 20 991. It provides current information on the opportunities for tourism in Bulgaria or assistance, where necessary.
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Bulgaria Anatolii Makarov also took part in the meeting. He defined Bulgarian and Russian relations as an example of cooperation. He projected an increase of the Russian tourist flow.
In addition, representatives of 14 Russian towns and 12 Bulgarian municipalities, the regional governor of Varna Stoyan Pasev, the executive director of the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria Assoc. Prof. Ginka Chavdarova also took part in the forum.