Minister Stella Baltova talks with the Ambassador of Romania to Bulgaria HE Brandusa Predescu

The Minister of Tourism Stella Baltova talks with the Ambassador of Romania to Bulgaria HE Brandusa Predescu. The two discussed the state of the tourism sector in Bulgaria and Romania.

“Our friendship is very important for tourism, as we are neighbors and it is extremely important to maintain good relations”, said Minister Baltova. She pointed out that our northern neighbor is in first place in terms of inbound tourism in our country in recent years and expressed hope that this trend will continue in the future. “We continue our integrated marketing campaigns for the Romanian market”, explained the Minister of Tourism, and the Ambassador confirmed that these activities are visible in Romania and affect the choice to travel to Bulgaria. For the period January - April 2021, over 103 thousand visits by Romanian tourists in Bulgaria were reported, and only from May 27^th to June 17^th, 2021, according to unconfirmed data, over 20 thousand Romanian tourists spent the night in accommodation in Bulgaria. In this regard, the caretaker minister assured Ambassador Predescu that the measures taken in our country in connection with the epidemic situation are clear and strictly observed.

For her part, HE Brandusa Predescu said that Bulgaria and Romania have excellent bilateral relations and praised the work in line with the authorities in the two countries in the recent opening of the borders and the removal of border restrictions.

At the meeting, Minister Baltova used the occasion to thank Romania for the support it has provided to Bulgaria in its election as Vice-Chair of the Regional Commission for Europe of the United Nations (UNWTO) for the period 2021-2023.

Romania has also stated its readiness to partner with Bulgaria on the common path to full membership in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The two countries will join forces for joint future work within the influential organization to improve the results of the tourism industry.

Good cooperation and readiness for fruitful work were also highlighted in the framework of the Working Group on Tourism of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, where Romania is a coordinating country until 2022.

According to Ambassador Predescu, it is important for the two countries to continue working together - both to stimulate the tourism business and for other sectors of the economy. She also informed that Romania offers many opportunities for tourism that would be of interest to Bulgarian tourists.

The meeting discussed bilateral initiatives such as the offer of joint products and cultural tourist routes with the idea of attracting guests from distant tourist markets, especially after the end of the global pandemic of Covid-19.

In the context of the intensification of the season, the topics of the transit of buses through Romania with Ukrainian and Moldovan tourists wishing to spend their holidays in Bulgaria, as well as the passage of Romanian tourists through Bulgaria in the direction of Greece were discussed.