Minister Nikolina Angelkova opened the first hotel and touristic investment forum

Today Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova opened the first international tourism investment forum. In the very beginning of her opening words, she stressed that investments in tourism and attraction of serious capital providers in the sector are a priority not only for the Ministry of Tourism, but also for the government policy.

"Only during the last 10 years the number of foreign tourists in Bulgaria has increased by nearly 40% and in 2015 it has reached 7.1 million people," she said. The words of Minister Angelkova showed clearly that due to the significantly improved infrastructure in the country, including the modernizing of the road network and the opening of the new water treatment plants, Bulgaria has become even more attractive for both tourists and potential investors. "We are in the process of development also of investment tourist map so we can better present at national level what are the investment opportunities in the tourism sector," she explained.

The Minister informed that to date over 300 proposals from Bulgarian municipalities have been received and these are focused on the development of hotel complexes, cultural and historical sites, SPA centres, eco-trails, parks, ski slopes, etc. According to her the potential of Bulgaria for the development of mass and specialized tourism and the transformation of our country into a year-round tourist destination is undisputed. Meanwhile the emphasis on services of the highest class would ensure sustainable development of the industry. "For this active season most of our high category hotels on the Black Sea are already booked, and during the last summer 4 and 5 stars hotels across the country reported a 10 per cent growth in tourists and an increase in revenue of 12%," she added. From her words it became clear that the voluntary quality label launch by the Ministry in order to distinguish the hotel complexes and restaurants of the highest class will also encourage more and better services.

The forum, organized by the Agency for Investment Information for Southeast Europe and Russia, Property Express, brings together Bulgarian and foreign investors, representatives of the tourism industry, the banking sector, embassies, municipalities and others. Among those attending more than 50 participants were representatives of some of the world's largest hotel chains: Hayatt International, Wyndham Hotel Group, Marriott International, Accor, InterContinental Hotels Group, Best Western and others.

The best hotels in the country having achieved a high level of service and satisfaction of guests were honoured during the conference. The evaluation and the final selection are based on opinions posted in established international platforms and booking sites like TripAdvisor, Expedia, Booking.com.