Opportunities to promote Bulgarian tourism products were discussed in Brussels by the Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova and the President of the European Travel Commission (ETC) Peter De Wilde. The talk was a part of the program for Angelkova’s one-day visit to the capital of the EU and her first meeting at the European Commission as a Bulgarian Minister of Tourism.

Angelkova and De Wilde also discussed the potential to promote joint projects of our country with other countries under the initiatives of the Danube Strategy. They also exchanged views on the problems facing the European and Bulgarian tourism as well as the opportunities for expansion of mutual cooperation. Among the important topics in the sector, as set out by the Commission, are the visa policy of the community with regard to the distant markets, and the promotion of tourism not only at national but also at European level.

Minister Angelkova extended an invitation to the next Board of Directors of the ETC meeting scheduled in October 2015 to be held in Bulgaria. Angelkova also confirmed her attendance at   the celebrations for the Day of European Tourism on 1 December 2014, which will take place in Brussels.

The European Travel Commission  was established in 1948 as non-profit organisation based in Brussels. Its members are the 33 National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) of Europe, whose role is to market and promote tourism to Europe in general, and to their individual countries in particular. It assists its members in their  partnership  and in the process of the information exchange, as well as provides up-to-date information on the EU strategic destinations.Bulgaria is a member of the organization since 1993. Bulgaria's non-permanent member of the Board of Directors of the ETC with a two-year term (2014 and 2015), which requires active participation at the board meetings being held to discuss the problems in the sector and the management of the organization.