Meeting of WTO Regional Commission for Europe planned to take place in Bulgaria in 2017

The 61st Meeting of the Regional Commission for Europe of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) is planned to be held in Bulgaria in 2017. This was discussed at a meeting in Madrid between WTO’s Secretary General Taleb Rifai and the Bulgarian Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova that took place in the framework of FITUR, one of the largest tourism fairs worldide. The Bulgarian delegation included the Chairperson of the Budget and Finance Committee of the National Assembly, Menda Stoyanova, the Deputy Chairperson of the Economic Policy and Tourism Committee, Daniela Saveklieva and the Deputy Chairperson of the Budget and Finance Committee, Diana Yordanova.

“The participation of MPs from our National Assembly, who are members of some of the most important parliamentary standing committees, proves the commitment of the Bulgarian state to tourism”, said Nikolina Angelkova. She added that by establishing an independent Ministry of Tourism, the government has clearly demonstrated its strong commitment to the sector and that the department works in close coordination with other institutions. According to Taleb Rifai, some countries still fail to pay sufficient attention to tourism as an important economic sector, which highlights the need for consistent work in this direction. He congratulated Bulgaria for its active role in the framework of WTO and stressed that our country boasts of a very good image among the other members of the organization.

Another topic discussed at the meeting was the preparation of the First World Congress of Modern Tourism and Ancient Civilizations, which our country is co-organizing with WTO at the end of this year. Several hundred participants from all over the world are expected to take part in the forum. Taleb Rifai stressed that it is very important to have a discussion that would be relevant and useful for all participants, but at the same time the event should be also taken as an opportunity to present Bulgaria as an attractive tourist destination.

During her visit to Madrid Minister Angelkova took part in a high level meeting on “Tourism and Security” organized by WTO. Together with 45 Ministers and over 100 representatives of government agencies and NGOs from around the world she discussed the global issues facing tourism and measures to address them.