Deputy Minister Irena Georgieva participates in a meeting of the Board of Directors of the European Travel Commission

Deputy Minister of Tourism Irena Georgieva participates in the 105th meeting of the Board of Directors of the European Travel Commission (ETC) The event took place in Rome, Italy. As part of the Board of Directors, with a mandate until the end of 2023, Bulgaria will take part in solving important subject matters, issues and problems for the industry, accepting new members, approving the action program and the budget.

The main topic of discussion during the meeting was the recovery of the tourism sector in Europe, with the motto “Results Summer 2022”. Each country shared the positive results of the season. Deputy Minister Georgieva pointed out that the efforts of the Ministry of Tourism are aimed at exploiting all opportunities for the recovery of Bulgarian tourism, as it is in constant contact with all stakeholders to achieve cooperation between institutions and business.

The deputy minister also shared the latest data for our country, which shows that by the end of the summer season Bulgaria will have reached 80% of the 2019 results. The leading markets are Romania, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, UK, Israel, etc.

Despite the optimistic prospects for tourism recovery, the ongoing challenges facing Europe’s tourism sector, including global inflation and the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian military conflict, cannot be ignored.

Deputy Minister Georgieva stressed that peace is a fundamental prerequisite for the development of tourism. The unprovoked aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the ongoing military actions have an extremely negative impact on the tourism sector in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria is adapting to the international environment and the new trends, and the efforts of the Bulgarian tourism business are focused on every tourist, Georgieva said.

ETC’s strategy for the development of tourism in Europe until 2030 was discussed. An important emphasis was placed on the work of the organisation to raise the image of the tourism sector and its professions.