The prospective register of tourist sites, attractions and sights is aimed to attract more tourists in Bulgaria and to plan precisely the sustainable development of the industry, the Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova announced in Plodviv.

Angelkova and Ivan Totev, the Mayor of Plovdiv, opened the traditional annual meeting of tour operators with international participation. 90 tourist companies from 16 countries and over 25 Bulgarian companies took part in the fifth edition of the three-day business forum, organized by the local municipality under the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism and the Association of Bulgarian Tour Operators and Travel Agents.

The event was also attended by representatives of tour operators from distant destinations such as Morocco, China, India, etc., for which Bulgaria has the potential to develop joint tourist packages with neighboring countries. This is a niche market that could turn Bulgaria into a more popular and more competitive destination in this part of Europe; it became clear from the statements of Minister Angelkova.

The Minister advised of the inspection that should be carried out next week regarding the readiness of our resorts Borovets, Bansko and Pamporovo for the winter season. About 4-5% growth of the winter season in the country is expected, as  the significant numbers of tourists will arrive from the Balkan  countries as Greece (5% growth), Romania (1-2%), Macedonia (5%), Turkey (10% ), Serbia (3%) and etc., as for the Great Britain the sustaining of the last winter season levels is expected, as the planned  increase  of German tourists is of  2%, as  for Austria - about 5% more guests are expected,   and for  Israel - over 10%.

According to data submitted by Sofia Airport, 11% increase in arriving foreign passengers is expected during the winter months.  Sofia Airport plans 9 charter chains and Plovdiv Airport - 43 charter flights to and from various countries (Russia, Great Britain, Turkey, Ireland), and  charter flights from Turkey will be operated for the first time.

Also, for the first time tourists from countries such as India, China and Japan are interested in our winter resorts, which shows our enormous potential to provide services for Asian tourist markets, added Minister Angelkova.