site.btaEarly Winter Holiday Bookings Indicate Tourism Growth of between 5-7 Per Cent

Early Winter Holiday Bookings Indicate Tourism Growth of between 5-7 Per Cent

Sofia, November 20 (BTA) - Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova
said during Question Time in Parliament on Friday that based on
the data from the early bookings for the winter season, a growth
 of 5 to 7 per cent may be expected in tourism.

Last winter's season saw an increase of more than 8 per cent in
the number of foreign tourists and nearly 5 per cent in proceeds
 from international tourism, Angelkova said. Thanks to the eased
 visa procedures - a policy which Bulgaria will continue to
apply in the coming winter season as well - visits of Turkish
tourists increased by nearly 30 per cent, Angelkova said.
Growths were reported in other target markets as well: Britain,
15 per cent, Germany, 11 per cent, Israel, 26 per cent,
Macedonia and Serbia, 9 per cent each, Greece, 6 per cent.
Angelkova expects this positive trend to persist.

The Minister supported her projections with data about booked
seasonal flights at Sofia Airport - 178, 80 more than the last
winter. This winter six times more seasonal flights have been
booked at Sofia Airport from Kiev. There is one new destination,
 Copenhagen. The incoming flights from London are 69, against 24
 last winter. Plovdiv Airport expects a greater number of
flights and passengers from important markets for winter
tourism, such as Israel, with 14 new flights, the Netherlands,
13, and Britain, 5, Angelkova said.