The number of foreign tourists visiting Bulgaria in 2017 is expected to hit record highs, Bulgaria’s Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova said, Focus agency informs. In Minister Angelkova’s view, the number of foreign tourists visiting Bulgaria this year will be 10% higher as compared to 2016 when a record high number of tourists (8.2 million people) visited Bulgaria since 1989. According to experts, the sharp increase of the tourist flow is of great importance for the economy because 13% of the country’s gross domestic product is formed in tourism. Meanwhile, the deficit of labor force in this sector is still very high due to the low wages. That is why Bulgaria’s authorities have been trying to ease the access of non-EU citizens to the country’s labor market.