Bulgaria’s Black Sea and mountain resorts are preferred destinations for tourism for people from the neighboring Balkan countries, as well as from tourists from other EU member states. To keep this trend, however, changes in the attitude towards potential clients and the quality of the products and services must be made in Bulgaria.

We should develop a long-term strategy and build sustainable standards that would make tourists come back again to Bulgaria, Vladimir Georgiev, representative of a German online platform for tourist services contends. In his view, the low prices, the beautiful nature and nice beaches make the German tourists choose Bulgaria for their holiday destination. Analyses of the Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism show that the German citizens who come to Bulgaria for a vacation are mainly representatives of three age groups-young people aged 25 or under, families with children and adults aged 65 or above.

The mechanism for promoting organized tourism in Bulgaria presented last month by the Tourism Ministry provides a budget of EUR 2.5 million to assist targeted marketing campaigns and sale of tourist packages in Germany. According to Dr. Mitko Vasilev, CEO of the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, this mechanism will attract the attention of the German tour operators, which in turn opens up the opportunity to attract new clients.

Bulgaria must boost cooperation under various projects with its neighbor North Macedonia, Ljupco Janevski, Director of the Agency for Promotion and Support of Tourism in the Republic of North Macedonia said. One of the steps to achieve this goal is the creation of a better transport connection between the two countries:

The first charter flights from Sofia to Ohrid are expected in September and October 2020, Ljupco Janevski told Radio Bulgaria. The long-expected airline between Sofia and Ohrid would guarantee a much quicker travel and coherence between the two destinations. The new air route has already become part of the tourist destination offered by one of our largest tour operators. Thus, along with the traditional bus trips, the Bulgarian tourist will be able to benefit from the services of a direct charter airline. We hope that the new airline will be profitable, so that flights are made throughout the whole summer tourist season between May and October and even become year-round.

Each year, the number of Bulgarian tourists visiting North Macedonia increases with 10% to 15%, Ljupco Janevski pointed out. Most of them prefer trips to Lake Ohrid. They also want to get acquainted with the local cultural heritage and the cuisine. On the other hand, tourists from North Macedonia visit Bulgaria for its winter ski resorts Bansko and Borovets and the beautiful Black Sea coast. Many tourists from Bulgaria’s western neighbor also visit the capital city Sofia. That is why it is important to work towards reducing travel time between the two countries.

English version: Kostadin Atanasov