site.btaTourism Minister Angelkova Meets with Italy's Undersecretary of State of Foreign Affairs

Sofia, February 17 (BTA) - Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova has presented to Italy's Undersecretary of State of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Vincenzo Amendola, the results of the High-Level Meeting of the Ministers of Tourism of the EU Member States on "Tourism and Economic Growth", which took place earlier this week in Sofia, Angelkova's ministry said in a press release Friday.

Angelkova told Amendola that she had proposed the creation of a "Sofia Map of the 100 European Tourist Sites", tapping Bulgaria's experience in promoting the 100 national attractions. The map, which will be based on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, is aimed at generating additional interest in Europe as a tourist destination and attracting more visitors from distant countries, such as China, Japan, India, and the USA.
  
Angelkova went on to say that the attraction of more visitors from distant tourism markets and, in particular, China is also the key reason behind the creation of the so-called Balkan Route, which will be elaborated by a working group to be set up by several countries.

The Tourism Minister and Amendola also discussed the proposal for a European Tourism Fund to be established in support of the sector's development through funding of joint projects, among other things.

Amendola said that the High-Level Meeting of the Ministers of Tourism of the EU Member States in Sofia would have a positive effect on the development of tourism in a political aspect.

The Tourism Ministry recalls that Italy is among the leading markets for foreign tourist trips in Bulgaria. In 2017, the number of Italian tourists who visited this country exceeded 163,000 persons, up by 12.7 per cent from a year earlier. Italy is among he preferred tourist destinations for Bulgarians: last year nearly 230,000 travelled to Italy, or by 28.7 per cent more compared to 2016, the press release reads.