The popularisation of Bulgaria as a tourist destination was discussed at a meeting of Minister Angelkova with the Bulgarian community in Washington

National Geographic will get involved in the journalist tours which are being prepared by the Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism. This was confirmed at a meeting of Minister Nikolina Angelkova, who is on a working visit to the USA, and the vice-president of National Geographic Expeditions, Keith Butler, in Washinghton. The meeting was also attended by representatives of the department in charge of organising the expeditions of Traveler Magazine, who emphasised that Bulgaria had a lot more to show to the world and the facts about our country continued to amaze the readers of their edition.

Last year our country was advertised on the TV channel of the group and that partnership was evaluated as successful and very promising. Minister Angelkova pointed out that this year our country has directed its attention to online forms of advertising, where the possibilities that can be offered by National Geographic were discussed.

Nikolina Angelkova presented the possibilities for investment in sector tourism and the perspectives of the Bulgarian tourist market at a talk with two of the vice-presidents of the Marriott Hotel Chain. There was also a meeting with Christopher Thompson, president and managing director of The Brand USA (public-private partnership aimed at promoting international travel in the USA), as well as with the director of the Public Policy Department of the Aaron Schwartz organisation. Minister Angelkova emphasised that an ever increasing number of Americans choose our country for business, as well as for travel, and these relations should grow deeper. The representatives of the The Brand USA declared their readiness to help with expertise and know-how for the successful development and marketing of Bulgaria as a tourist destination.

The first day of Minister Angelkova’s visit to the USA ended up with a meeting and discussion with the Bulgarian community at the Bulgarian embassy in Washington. Minister Angelkova presented the work of the Ministry of Tourism, emphasising that we are all of the so called Brand Bulgaria and all of us together form the image of our country to the world. ‘That is why I find it very important to have more meetings with the Bulgarian community abroad and now we are working on the idea of how, through an online platform, we can have a possibility for a permanent link between you and the Ministry of Tourism and how you can participate more actively in the presentation of the country as a tourist destination’, Nikolina Angelkova added. She presented the results of the Ministry of Tourism and pointed out that as a result of a number of activities, a good summer season is expected. In reply to the question whether the quality of the services offered met the foreign tourists’ expectations, the Minister said that an important step in this direction was made with the entry into force of the new ordinance on the categorization of catering and accommodation facilities, but she did not make secret of the fact that there was a lot more to do in this respect. The Minister said that the fight against the shadow economy was of key importance and declared that work was already being done on connecting the hotel registers with the National Revenue Agency (NRA) and the other competent institutions. The meeting continued for more than 3 hours showing continued strong interest.

In 2015, Bulgaria was visited by about 82 thousand American tourists. The American citizens are mostly interested in the cultural-historical, architectural, spa, cruise, gourmet and wine tourism.