Minister Angelkova held a working meeting in London with Egyptian Minister of Tourism Dr Rania Al-Mashat

05 November 2019

Within the World Travel Market, the Bulgarian Minister of Tourism also talked with her Greek colleague Harry Theoharis and Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the WTO until 2017.

Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova held a working meeting with the Minister of Tourism of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Dr Rania Al-Mashat. The two spoke at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London. The main focus of the debate was the discussion of measures to encourage tourism exchanges between the two countries.

The organization of an official visit to Egypt, involving representatives of the state administration, the Bulgarian tourism business and local authorities, is being discussed, said Minister Angelkova. B2B meetings are expected to be held between delegates from both countries to comment on initiatives to increase travel in Bulgaria and Egypt. The working visit will be in continuation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Ministry of Tourism of the Arab Republic of Egypt signed in May in Bulgaria.

Minister Angelkova and Dr Rania Al-Mashat also discussed the possibilities of organizing a Bulgarian-Egyptian tourist forum with representatives of the industry from both countries. At the meeting, Minister Angelkova also raised the issue of setting up a joint working group, whose first session would be held in Bulgaria next year. This will deepen cooperation and allow for the exchange of experience and good practices that contribute to the sustainable development of tourism.

During her working visit to London, Minister Angelkova also met with the Minister of Tourism of the Republic of Greece, Mr. Harry Theoharis.

Greece is a key tourist market for us, with the number of visits from our southern neighbour ranking it second among the top destinations for inbound tourism, said Minister Angelkova.

For the period January-September 2019 tourist visits from Greece to Bulgaria are over 892 thousand and increase by 4.7% compared to the same period a year earlier.

The two ministers discussed the creation of joint projects to attract tourists from distant markets such as China, Japan and the US. Minister Angelkova emphasized that an important accent in our work is to encourage visits from those countries that traditionally choose to travel to several neighbouring countries.

Minister Angelkova also spoke with Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization at the UN in 2009-2017. They commented on the progress in tourism as well as initiatives that could contribute to even greater achievements in the sector.

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