The Ministers of Tourism of Bulgaria and Romania signed a cooperation agreement in Craiova

The Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova and the Minister of Economy, Trade and Tourism of Romania Mihai Tudose signed a protocol of intent for bilateral cooperation in Craiova. The ceremony was held in the city art museum and was attended by the Prime Ministers of Bulgaria and Romania Boyko Borisov and Victor Ponta following a joint meeting of the two governments.  

We will develop and strengthen bilateral relations, said Minister Angelkova. She noted that Bulgaria and Romania will focus on the introduction of joint tourist products for distant markets and particularly for China where a Bulgarian-Romanian tourist info center will be established. This center will offer and promote the joint tourist products, added Angelkova. In the last years the Romanian tourists in Bulgaria reach 1 million people per year while the Bulgarians who have visited our northern neighbor amount to about 300 000.  She also noted that the signing of the protocol aims to maintain the current upward trend and introduce Bulgaria and Romania as a common tourist destination for third parties.

During her visit to Craiova Minister Angelkova met with the Deputy Minister of Economy, Trade and Tourism of Romania Marcel Bogdan Pandelică. The two agreed that Bulgaria and Romania will work on a common project which would be eligible for funding under the EU Cross-Border Cooperation Programme.  A working group which is to prepare the project is to be appointed at the beginning of next week. The idea is to outline a common strategy for the creation of regional tourist products and to map out thematic routes on both sides of the river Danube which in turn would stimulate the economic development and attract more tourists from third countries as well.  The planned value of the project which is to be concluded by the end of June will be approximately 1.5 million euro.

“China has expressed keen interest in the joint projects that we are developing”, said Minister Angelkova. The Minsiter also said that she plans a visit to the National Republic of China in June and it would be good to have some concrete proposals by then. “At this stage we can focus on the cultural-historical heritage in the Danube region and research the possibilities for inclusion of other countries”, added Angelkova.

According to Deputy Minister Pandelică the two countries should also focus on the Black Sea region because Bulgaria and Romania are the only EU member states that have an outlet on the Black Sea. The two parties also agreed that the know-how of the World Tourism Organization could be applied so that the quality of the tourist product could be further increased.