Minister Baltova welcomes the opening of an expedition tour for some of the largest and most influential representatives of the German tourism business

Minister Stella Baltova participates in the official opening of an expedition tour in order to present Bulgaria as a risk-free destination with a quality tourist product to some of the largest and most influential German tour operators and travel agents. The event takes place in Varna and the resorts on the North Black Sea coast, between June 20^th and 22^nd - at the beginning of the astronomical summer and just before the resumption of charter flights from Germany.

The caretaker minister welcomed the guests, assuring them that the Bulgarian government is taking all necessary measures for the safe and smooth running of the summer season. The health and comfort of the guests and the staff in the tourist sites are a priority, and for days Bulgaria has permanently entered the green zone on the map of Europe, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, she said.

Minister Baltova pointed out that the German market is extremely important for the tourism sector in our country, as in 2019 Germany took third place in inbound tourism with its 761 thousand visitors.

The business, represented by many directors of companies at the highest level, during the three-day tour will be demonstrate the readiness to welcome tourists from Germany and the measures against COVID-19 in hotels and resorts in order for the guests to get personal impressions on the spot, useful discussions will be held between tour operators and the trends will be discussed. Over 120 representatives of German agents and tour operators, including directors of DER Touristik, LMX Touristik, FTI Touristik, Invia Group Germany, TUI and many others, discussed the recovery of the business after the long closure and expressed optimism about the destination Bulgaria. They united around the thesis that vaccination will return to normalcy, and now there is an increase in bookings and the effect of catching up is observed. During the event, Minister Baltova discussed with a number of business representatives the challenges facing the sector and discussed possible solutions for the resumption, promotion and development of the German market.

The initiator is the main charter airline from the German market for Bulgaria - European Air Charter, and the media partner of the event is the most authoritative professional magazine for tourism in Germany - FVW, which largely sets the current topics and agenda in the German tourism sector. The presence of FVW will allow the coverage of the expedition tour and the messages broadcast from the destination to reach all nearly 11,000 passenger offices in Germany, as well as all German tour operators. At the same time, caretaker Minister Stella Baltova gave a special interview to the media, in which she once again highlighted the advantages and key role of destination Bulgaria - as the only country in the EU that did not completely interrupt work in the tourism sector during the pandemic, and so proved to be a sustainable tourist destination.

A call for long-term investment for year-round tourism was called for. The participants wished that the corona crisis would be overcome quickly, and that Bulgaria would not be perceived as a cheap destination, but as a country worth visiting.