We are making Bulgaria Europe's leading balneo and SPA center
Tourism is a horizontal system and its growth depends on the will of all actors along the chain
Nikolina Angelkova:
Minister Angelkova, which is the "pebble in the shoe" of Bulgarian tourism?
Tourism is a horizontal system and its growth depends on the will of all actors along the chain. It is a major sector and forms nearly 13% of Bulgaria’s GDP. It is no accident that the government made it a national priority and an independent Ministry of Tourism was created. We work consistently to consolidate the sector in order to realize the main common goal - turning Bulgaria into a competitive and sought-after year-round destination. This cannot be achieved without unity and dialogue among all units in the structure of tourism. At the meeting of the EU’s tourism ministers "Tourism and Economic Growth" in February during the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, we were congratulated on our excellent achievements. The motto of the discussion was "United We Stand Strong", and proved that this could be the leading motive for sustainable progress not only in our, but also in European tourism.
You work in close relation to the tourism sector. Which are some of the problems that have to be solved with your help in the near future?
We work actively to consolidate the sector and for its national representativeness. Among our main goals is to minimize the grey economy. Laws must be observed by everyone and at any time, that is why we insist on their precision. What is important are not only the obligations of tour operators and tour agents, but consumers’ rights must also be ensured. We want tourism to be the face of Bulgaria before the world, and that is why our national resorts should have a status with a clearly defined activities. Thus, our country will become even more attractive for tourists, but also a place for more investments and good practices in tourism.
You are well acquainted with Bulgarian tourism, both from the inside and from the outside. Could you give us two or three of its greatest strengths and weaknesses at the moment?
Bulgaria is still not so well known in the world as a destination. We have mobilized all our strengths to make our advertising and marketing policy more flexible, up-to-date and forward-looking. Our positions in digital advertising and social media are becoming much stronger. Our ministry is among the first in the world that has introduced a service for sharing information about tourist sites via Viber's Chat Extension under our joint project with the iLoveBulgaria Internet platform. Bulgaria can be one of Europe's leading spa and balneo centres with its great variety of mineral waters and healing resources - only Iceland is ahead of us in this category. These resources, however, have not yet been completely utilized. The infrastructure around tourist sites has to be further developed, although serious investments for highways and modernization of airports have been made. Our country is undoubtedly one of the most interesting destinations for cultural and historical tourism with its enormous variety of artefacts, surpassed only by those in Italy and Greece. An advantage for Bulgaria is that we can offer any type of mass and specialized tourism at a very competitive price-quality ratio.
Do you have an answer to finding the perfect middle ground between ecology and the desire of investors to develop the tourist product?
It is very important for laws to be interpreted in the right way. A consensus is need that is reached through dialogue and reasonable compromise in order to attract more investments in tourism - not only for the development of its base, but also for transport communications, accompanying services and advertising. However, this should not be at the expense of legal norms, nature and eco balance.
Bansko is a good example of how a small town can become a mega resort. But a "green" break is pulled for the development of the skiing infrastructure. Is the knot going to be untied or cut?
We need a year-round access to the mountains, which should also be environmentally friendly. We will achieve this by means of lifts and modern ski equipment that will limit the pollution from cars and will attract more tourists. This issue concerns not only Bansko, but also all mountain resorts - big and small. We need a balance between interests and benefits for the economy, tourism, regional development and ecology. This is an important focus of our strategic projects to encourage different types of tourism.
How is the upcoming summer tourist season going to look like?
We expect again a successful summer season after the excellent results in the last two years of record for the Bulgarian tourism. For the period June-September 2017, the visits of foreign tourists in Bulgaria were 5.3 million - nearly 6% more compared to the same months in 2016. The revenues for this period were BGN 4.5 billion, which is a growth of over 7%. At the end of the last season, most 5-star hotels were booked for the summer 2018. This is the result of our active dialogue with major international tour operators, and undoubtedly a recognition that we offer a quality product. We hope that this summer the achievements from last year will be exceeded.
Do you have a plan how Bulgarians could rediscover Bulgaria as a tourist destination?
The internal market has been underestimated in the past, but we have changed this approach. Indeed, for the last two years, Bulgaria reported a double increase in tourist travels from other countries, compared to the EU average, but the Bulgarians' trips in their own country marked an increase. A reason for this are also the thematic destinations that the ministry has developed. Eight of them promote our cultural and historical landmarks, and the number of visits to these sites has grown significantly. There are many more trips inside the country for religious celebrations, historical anniversaries, large folklore festivals, rose celebrations and more. Together with the municipalities, we are preparing 12 wine and culinary and 7 balneo and spa destinations.