Ulrich Nussbaum, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, before Minister Angelkova: “I would like to thank the Bulgarian government for their reaction following the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook”

“The country is an extremely important market for us, within Top 3 for inbound tourism’’, said Minister Angelkova who is on a working visit in the Federal Republic.

“I would like to thank the Bulgarian government for their reaction. You were one of the few countries who acted this way following the bankruptcy of the tour operator Thomas Cook”. These were the words of Ulrich Nussbaum, State Secretary in the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy of the Federal Republic of Germany during the meeting with the Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova. She is on a working visit in Germany where today she is having a number of meetings with regards to the possibilities for negotiations for season 2020 and the circumstances following the termination of the activity of the world tour operator.

“We reacted in good time, a working group was formed in the ministry for the purpose of continuously following the situation,” Minister Angelkova pointed out. “Experts from the ministry were sent to the Black Sea coast to assist the tourists and the business and to help for the fast solution of any arising difficulties. It was important for us not to let the tourists from Germany and the other countries experience additional difficulties following the bankruptcy of the tour operator and to leave in them such impressions from Bulgaria which will make them visit our country next year again.  I am happy that they had a trouble-free holiday, this is of extreme importance for the image of the country as an attractive destination for organized tourism”, commented the Bulgarian minister. She announced in front of her host the readiness of the government to help the business in attracting more tourists via advertising.

 “The important thing is our two governments to work together which will contribute for the encouragement of the visits in both countries”, commented Minister Angelkova. “Tourism is a national priority for the Government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov thus a separate Ministry of Tourism has been established and its main aim is Bulgaria to win recognition as a year-round tourist destination.”

The two interlocutors discussed the situation following the bankruptcy of the oldest tour operator and the possibilities of the respective legislation to decreases the damages of its partners. Minister Angelkova assured the State Secretary Nussbaum that Germany was among the Top 3 leading markets for inbound tourism in Bulgaria and that the attraction of the interest of the German tourists  was one of the main aims of the Ministry of Tourism. She also reminded that last year we had more than 9.2 million foreign tourist visits in our country and that tourism was a key sector for the development of economics as it formed 12% of the GDP.

The minister pointed out that the German tourists mainly organized their trips via tour operators or international booking platforms. She added that Bulgaria and Germany had long-term and well-developed bilateral relations.

 “I would like to thank you and your colleagues for the good partnership over the last years which has helped us achieve this big success and already given the green light for joint work with the German health insurance companies“, said Minister Angelkova. “Thanks to these agreements, the health insurance companies will send to Bulgaria those German citizens who want to use the services of our health and SPA tourism and the rich natural resources of Bulgaria in terms of mineral springs. The private hotels can also offer those services of theirs which are certified and in compliance with the decrees of the Ministry of Health Care and the Ministry of Tourism.”