site.btaDay Two of EU Commissioner Corina Cretu's Visit to Bulgaria

Day Two of  EU Commissioner Corina Cretu's Visit to Bulgaria

Rousse, on the Danube, June 17 (BTA) - Security plays an important role in the choice of tourist destinations, EU Commissioner Corina Cretu said Friday. People want to spend their holidays nicely and relax. Cretu, who is paying a two-day visit to Bulgaria, delivered a speech at the high-level conference on sustainability of tourism development and security in the Danube Region.

Cretu explained that there is a common European policy on security, including navigation along the Danube and the joint border checkpoint teams.

The lack of a sense of security influences the entire life of people, as well as economic activities. In 2015, 10 per cent of the EU's GDP came from tourism, with 25 regions being helped directly or indirectly. A total of 600 million tourists visit the EU every year.

International tourism is expected to grow in the near future. According to EU projections, this may open 3 million new jobs if the necessary conditions are provided, Cretu said.

Cretu also quoted figures showing the total contribution of tourism to Bulgaria's GDP in 2015 at over 10,500 million leva, about 13 per cent of GDP.

She expressed a desire for 5,000 more tourists to visit Romania every year.

Romanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development and Public Administration, Vasile Dincu, said there is a need of infrastructure that makes the Danube a bridge, not an obstacle.

He said there is a European project for integrated development of the Danube region worth over 1,000 million euro, and invited Bulgaria to participate.

Bulgarian Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova added that about 980,000 Romanians visited Bulgaria last year. Their number is expected to top one million this year.