Minister Angelkova: With the 12 wine-culinary destinations project we expect to draw more tourists to the country’s interior

Business and municipalities support the idea, the Struma Valley and the Mesta Valley were discussed at the first roundtable

We expect to draw more tourists to the country’s interior through the 12 wine-culinary destinations project. The Ministry is following a consistent policy, aiming to create interest in more Bulgarians to travel to various corners of the country. This was announced in Bansko by the Minister of Tourism, Nikolina Angelkova, during the first roundtable to discuss the wine, gourmet, and tourism project, which is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Forests. The forum was attended by the Minister of Agriculture, Rumen Porozhanov, by Georgi Ikonomov, mayor of Bansko, Eng. Krasimir Koev, executive director of the Executive Agency on Vine and Wine, and MP’s. The first and second destinations - the Struma Valley and the Mesta Valley – were the focus of discussion.

We believe that the project will contribute to Bulgariabeing asserted as a 4-season destination, emphasized Minister Angelkova, adding that positive impact would thus be exerted on the development of a number of municipalities, not just tourism-wise but also as regards improving the quality of life of the locals.

When we were developing the concept we chose to have 12 wine-culinary destinations – as many as the year’s months. They include traditional wine beverages and the cuisine typical for each region, covering some 50 municipalities and some 100 tourism sites in the country, announced the Minister, explaining that the first two destinations, which were primarily discussed today, cover 9 municipalities and over 15 tourist attractions.

This roundtable sets off stage two of the project, which envisages a total of 6 regional roundtables country-wide. Thus we expect to obtain detailed feedback from businesses and supplement and build on the proposals we have developed, announced the Minister. She also made it clear that businesses now come to the fore in order to build on what was initiated by the Ministry. She will propose to the Regional Development Minister, Nikolay Nankov, to place indicative signboards directing and informing tourists about the destinations.

There is ongoing work to establish a Share Bulgaria trademark. A procedure has already been initiated for the purpose at the Patent Office. We have also carried out the relevant checks to reserve the mark, said the Minister.

I had the opportunity to showcase the wine-culinary destinations project to Oleg Safonov, head of the Russian Federation’s Federal Agency for Tourism, who responded very well to the idea and commented that it would have a generally positive effect on the development of tourism in Bulgaria, announced Minister Angelkova. The idea was also taken onboard with great interest in Berlin, during the ITB international exhibition.

The finalized wine-culinary destinations are expected to be announced in the fall of this year. They will then be digitalized and uploaded on both Ministries’ websites. The 12 wine-culinary destinations, as acknowledged by the businesses and municipalities, are expected to also be incorporated into the iLoveBulgaria platform, which currently contains over 500 tourism sites and is used by over 17 000 users, explained the Minister.

The 2017 results in tourism were exceptional, suggesting that we are on the right path, said Minister Angelkova.

Stats about the winter season’s first two months are good, we are expecting the visits of international tourists to grow by some 10-15 percent meanwhile, announced Minister Angelkova, adding that during the December 2017 -  January 2018 period the visits of international tourists to Bulgaria totalled 895 000, a 17 percent growth, compared to the December 2016 -  January 2017. During those two months of the winter season, tourists in Bansko municipality were nearly 116 000, growing by 14.8 percent compared to the same period of the year before. The number of night-stays has, on the other hand, increased by 18.5%, reaching nearly 377 000.

The first stats about this year are promising, we expect to achieve sustainable growth in 2018 as well, commented the minister, quoting the NSI stats, according to which in January the total number of visits of international tourists to Bulgaria was over 437 000, growing by nearly 19% compared to the same period of the year before.

The first analysis of the project is taking place currently, said Minister Rumen Porozhanov, indicating that the project is open to building up and that many municipalities have tabled proposals to include sites in the destinations. Minister Porozhanov also added that it is important how the businesses conceptualize the destination and that it is their and the local government’s job to make the necessary arrangements. He called on the stakeholders to table their ideas so that the project may be built upon in due time.