site.btaBulgaria's International Tourism Revenues Go Up by 3.6% in First Half of 2014, Year on Year

Bulgaria's International Tourism Revenues Go Up by 3.6% in First Half of 2014, Year on Year

Sofia, September 29 (BTA) - In the first half of 2014,
international tourism contributed 1.718 billion euro in revenues
to Bulgaria's balance of payments on current account, which
implies an increase by 3.6 per cent compared with the first half
of 2013. The number of foreigners visiting Bulgaria has
increased by 6.7 per cent so far this year, Deputy Economy and
Energy Minister Branimir Botev said on Monday, citing central
bank data.

Botev was speaking at a public discussion on the national goals
in the field of tourism, organized by the Bulgarian Academy of
Sciences and a national daily newspaper.

He noted that the positive results do not preclude the need for
the government to support the sector. The Deputy Minister urged
politicians to treat the tourist industry in the same way as
they would treat the national football team.

Stefan Sharlopov, Chairman of the Bulgarian Union of Balneology
and SPA Tourism, proposed setting up a separate institution to
govern the tourist sector. "It is one thing if we have an
agency, and it is another thing if we have a deputy minister in
a vast ministry, and it is still another thing if the sector has
its own governing institution with clear goals centred around
the aspiration to make Bulgaria an year-round tourist
destination," Sharlopov argued.

Simeon Peshov, a construction entrepreneur and investor in
tourism, highlighted the link between tourism and construction.
Peshov said the first thing that the future parliament should do
is adopt "sensible laws in the field of public-private
partnership and concessions." He said the Spatial Development
Act should be conducive to such partnerships, rather than
getting in their way. Peshov said that cultural monuments,
except for monuments of national status, should be maintained by
private concessionaires. He called on the government to support
archaeological exploration.

Another proposal set forth by Peshov was that the Rural
Development Programme should be used to encourage young
entrepreneurs to build guesthouses near cultural monuments. In
this way, he said, many cultural sites will be developed and
young people will have their own business.

Tourism investor Petya Slavova said tourism has never been a
priority for the government in the years of transition. Even
overdevelopment is not something that should be blamed on
investors, but rather on available legislation, Slavova said.
"Our task now is to put all these new modern buildings to good
use, which can only be done if there is a Ministry of Tourism
pursuing a clear goal: the goal of making Bulgaria a year-round
tourist destination," she said.

Slavova complained of a lack of a consistent advertising policy
to help Bulgaria shake off the image of being a drinking
destination. The nation needs proper legislation to make it an
attractive place for older tourists, she said. LI/VE