The President: Tourism in Bulgaria needs urgent action – ᐉ News from Fakti.bg – Bulgaria
Candidate presidential couple Rumen Radev and Iliana Yotova held a meeting with the National Board tourism (NBT) in a hotel in Sofia. Members of the Management Board and the Control Board of the NBT, representatives of various sectors of the tourism industry, as well as managers of hotels.
As united platform of the largest investors in the tourism industry, for 15 years NBT has been sustainable and works in a balanced way with the team as a constructive partner. Member of all four employers, the only Bulgarian tourism organization member of the UN World Tourism Organization.
The whole meeting is presented on a short platform, because from now on the dialogue is very valuable. We are ready and looking forward to this dialogue being constructive for progress.
Polina Karastoyanova, Executive Director of NBT, pointed out the sharpness of the strategic vision and document for updating, which is necessary for tourism in the next 10 years. It needs the next format of the presidential administration, which has the figure of a secretary of tourism, with communication between the industry and the department, which will be at a professional level. Karastoyanova was adamant that vaccination is the only way out of the crisis and the opportunity for economic growth. “There is an urgent need for a strategic vision for the development of tourism in Bulgaria,” added Ms. Karastoyanova.
“Together with Ms. Yotova she works actively so that Bulgarian tourism develops more rapidly and more comprehensively. We need to get out of the narrow-minded view of tourism only as a means of subsistence. In the modern world, tourism is becoming a necessary condition for attracting investment in a country. Tourism becomes a guarantee for the sustainability of investors, “Radev stressed.
“A radical change in thinking and attitudes towards tourism is needed. Tourism in Bulgaria needs urgent action, which can be related to the Sustainability and Development Plan. In the long run, tourism should be the leading factor in building and strengthening the Bulgaria brand, Radev added.
During the meeting, Nikolay Valkanov, a member of the United States at the NBT, expressed gratitude for the proper implementation of the 60/40 program in both caretaker governments. “It was a breath of fresh air for tourism,” Vulkanov stressed. Representatives of the NBT united around the position that there is a lack of qualified staff.
Martin Zahariev, Deputy Chairman of the National Board of Tourism categorically stated that it is necessary to develop a new post-covid strategy for tourism development in Bulgaria, 2020-2030 with broad public participation.
Zahariev added that a legislative change is needed in the law on tourism, supported by the other participants in the meeting. For his part, Prof. Draganov, a member of the CS of the NBT, supported the measures introduced by the official management and defined the moment as the “golden time for maximum vaccination” between the end of the summer season and before the beginning of winter. During the meeting, Prof. Draganov needs to create a national tourist organization through which business speaks with one voice to the institutions and to take responsibility for their actions.
Marian Belyakov, a member of the Board of NBT, focused on the problem of the need to ease the visa regime with Turkey, which according to him would be a historic moment in the development of tourism in Bulgaria and attracting Turkish tourists in our country.
At the end of the meeting, Iliana Yotova took the floor, recalling that there is no Prime Minister who has publicly stated what is needed for the development of tourism. “This is a priority for the Bulgarian economy and major changes are needed. A change in the law on tourism, the way of entry of third-country nationals in our country, a law on education, as the most accessible option is dual education, “said Yotova. “Changes in the transport laws and a strategic vision for what kind of tourism Bulgaria wants to develop are needed. Whether year-round or seasonal and the need to build a strategy for cultural routes’, added Yotova. As an example, give other countries where this is a huge share of revenue from the sector.
The Vice President categorically stated that Bulgarian companies abroad should be activated. “There should be no worries for foreign tourists arriving in Bulgaria due to the low percentage of vaccinated in our country,” she added, supported by the NBT.
Bulgaria