The Minister of Tourism Stela Baltova and the leading Russian tour operators discussed the upcoming winter season and current issues for tourists from the Russian market

The Minister of Tourism Stela Baltova held a nearly two-hour meeting with leading Russian tour operators operating in the Russian market. The talks were attended by Deputy Ministers of Tourism Irena Georgieva and Maria Belkoleva.

“This meeting is being held at a difficult time for all, but we are determined to work together to deal with the problems during the pandemic,” said Minister Baltova at the beginning of the meeting. The topic of conversation was the upcoming winter and summer season 2022.

“In the last 10-15 years, there has been a tendency for the tourism sector to develop rapidly, making Bulgaria a preferred year-round destination offering a high quality and diverse tourism product, and Russia has always been a priority market and partner,” said Minister Baltova.

From the beginning of the year to the end of September, over 31,000 Russian tourists have visited Bulgaria, 85% of them during the summer season. Leading destinations were Sofia and Varna – with about and over 6900 tourists from Russia, followed by Nessebar – with over 4 thousand, Balchik, Burgas and Plovdiv. For the period from January to August, however, according to border authorities, the number of Russian tourists visiting our country is significantly higher – over 85 thousand. Minister Baltova pointed out that the most important task before us is to restore the flow of tourists to the levels before the pandemic, when in 2019 their number was 450 thousand. Of the winter destinations, the most preferred for Russian guests are Bansko, Sofia, Samokov, Smolyan and Chepelare, the minister said. She assured that Bulgaria is taking all necessary anti-epidemic measures in order to provide optimal support for the sector, as well as to ensure maximum safety for the guests in the conditions of the ongoing pandemic. Minister Baltova acquainted the Russian tour operators with the current conditions that came into force with the introduction of the green certificate and announced that next week the Health Protocol for work in Bulgarian tourist sites will be fully ready.