Minister Angelkova opened the Bulgarian stand at the International Tourism Fair FITUR

The minister of tourism Nikolina Angelkova opened the Bulgarian stand at the International Tourism Fair FITUR. The tourism forum took place in the Spanish capital Madrid in the period from 23 to 27 January. This year the event was organized for the 38^th time and the biggest Spanish tour operators and tourist agencies and business representatives from hundreds of states took part in it.

“Similar forums give us the opportunity to present the potential of the Bulgarian tourism before professionals from the whole world and lovers of travelling,” commented minister Angelkova. She added that that event was a kind of platform for meetings of ministers, managers and representatives of the tourist administrations of dozens of countries, the United Nations World Tourism  Organization and many business experts who would get the chance to discuss long-term plans for sustainable development of the sector.

Bulgaria traditionally participates on the tourist fair with an information stand. This year the exhibition area was 100 sq.m. – about 25% bigger in comparison to last year. Besides the Ministry of Tourism, there were 10 more exhibitors on the stand including the municipalities of Varna and Veliko Tarnovo. Business representatives and amateurs could get acquainted with the diverse and high-quality tourist product that Bulgaria could offer.

The first 3 days the fair is opened only for professionals. During the weekend the forum will be opened for the general public as well. The tourists from Spain usually seek Bulgaria for visits connected with nature and culture. They are also interested in the urban visit and special attention is paid to Sofia, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo, Koprivshtitsa and Bozhentsi.

FITUR is one of the biggest tourism fairs in the world. Last year 9672 companies from 165 countries took part in the forum and the international participation had a 9% rise. The visitors, most of them professionals, increased with 6% reaching almost 245k. This year the participants and visitors are expected to be more in comparison to 2018.