The adviser to the Minister of Tourism Zhivko Tabakov took part in a conference on the development of Russian tourism in Bulgaria

Russia is a very important market for Bulgaria and the Ministry of Tourism is making consistent efforts to promote trips of Russian tourists to our country. This was stated by the advisor to the Minister of Tourism Zhivko Tabakov, who took part in the conference on the Prospects of development of Russian tourism in Bulgaria, held today in the Albena Resort.

According to NSI (National Statistical Institute) data in 2015 Bulgaria was visited by over 484 thousand Russian tourists, which puts it in fifth place among the leading markets. At the same time more than 300 thousand Russians own real estate in Bulgaria. At the beginning of the tourist season, the number of scheduled flights to the Varna airport in the summer of 2016 were exceeded by 25% the ones realized last summer, and the growth for the Burgas airport was about 26%. "We expect additional growth in the "last minute" bookings, said Zhivko Tabakov.

During the meeting the issues about the quality of Bulgarian tourist products, the management of beaches, security, visas for Russian tourists and transport access were discussed.

The discussion was attended by the Consul General of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lukyyanchuk in Varna, the Director General of VASSY TRAVELL, Rositsa Dimitrova, the director of Sales and Marketing of Albena AD, Margarita Todorova, representatives of tourism organizations and others.