site.btaTourism Minister Angelkova Holds Meetings with Counterparts, Tourism Officials from Spain, France, Turkey and Egypt during Trade Fair in Madrid

Tourism Minister Angelkova Holds Meetings with Counterparts, Tourism Officials from Spain, France, Turkey and Egypt during Trade Fair in Madrid

Madrid/Sofia, January 23 (BTA) - Bulgaria and Spain will sign a memorandum of cooperation in tourism during the ITB Travel Trade Show in Berlin in March. An agreement to this effect was reached between Bulgarian Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova and Spanish Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism Jose Manuel Soria Lopez, Angelkova's Ministry said in a press release. At a meeting during the Fitur International Tourism Fair in Madrid, the two officials discussed the opportunities for deepening the cooperation and exchange of experience in the area of tourism.


Angelkova and her host also agreed that representatives of a specialized organization in Spain in charge of training of hospitality staff will visit Bulgaria and provide assistance in the development of specialized training programmes.

Angelkova also conferred with Rafael Gallego, president of the Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies. The two discussed the opportunities for attracting more Spanish tourists to Bulgaria and more active work with travel agencies. The participants in the meeting agreed that representatives of the Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies will take part in the specialized tours the Bulgarian Tourism Ministry prepares for foreign experts and media. The Spanish tourists visiting Bulgaria are interested in cultural and historical landmarks, fact-finding tours, and spa tourism, it emerged at the meeting.

Angelkova also met with Michel Durrieu, head of the Tourism Department and political advisor in the French Foreign Ministry. Durrieu is quoted as saying that Bulgaria is visible on the French tourist market. It emerged at the meeting that the two countries have already started preparations to pool their efforts in attracting Chinese tourists. Angelkova said that Bulgaria can learn from France's experience on the Chinese tourism market and use the country's well developed network of visa centres there. Bulgaria can offer a lot in the development of a joint tourist product with France, which will benefit both countries, she said. The Minister also said that Bulgaria has a very good starting position in this respect after the memorandum of cooperation it recently signed with China.

Angelkova next conferred with Turkey's Culture and Tourism Minister Mahir Unal. At the meeting she stressed the eased procedures for issuing of visas for Turkish nationals and the good results this yielded in 2015, when the growth in the number of Turkish holiday makers visiting Bulgarian winter resorts was 30 per cent, and the overall increase of Turkish visitors coming to Bulgaria reached 20 per cent. Angelkova said that the eased procedure will continue in 2016 as well. The two ministers agreed to speed up the work on the development of a joint tourist product for remote markets and to hold days of Bulgaria in Istanbul and days of Turkey in Sofia.

Angelkova also had a meeting with Egypt's Culture and Tourism Minister Hisham Zazou. On the agenda of the talks was how security impacts tourism. Zazou renewed an invitation to Angelkova to visit Egypt for the signing of a bilateral agreement on cooperation in tourism.