site.btaTourism Ministry, European Travel Agents and Tour Operators to Promote Bulgaria as Tourist Destination

The Ministry of Tourism and the European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations (ECTAA) will cooperate to promote Bulgaria as a tourist destination and identify it as an ECTAA preferred destination for 2024, said here on Tuesday Tourism Minister Zaritsa Dinkova. The Bulgarian Minister and ECTAA Secretary General Eric Dresin signed cooperation agreement. Dinkova pointed out that the signing of the document will be another step towards establishing Bulgaria as the preferred destination of ECTAA for 2024, as well as for tourists from all over Europe and the world.

BGN 300,000 leva will be allocated from the Ministry's budget for hosting the ECTAA events, Minister Dinkova told journalists. The project will promote this country's mountain and sea tourism, natural parks, rich culture and history, she explained. According to her, this is an opportunity for the industry because the ECTAA network includes over 80,000 travel agencies. ECTAA and the Ministry will partner through mutual exchange of information, knowledge, experience and through expert level consultations.

The organization's Secretary General said that it is a great opportunity for ECTAA to announce that for the first time Bulgaria will be included in the preferred destination programme, adding that in this regard various initiatives are planned to serve the tourism sector in the country. 

Many initiatives have already started, he said, adding that ECTAA is already working with the local office of the Association of Bulgarian Tour Operators and Travel Agents on various projects to strengthen the presence of European tourists in the country. Dresin also noted that a special event in Sofia is coming up in the second half of the year, adding that the aim is to bring Bulgaria to the attention of tour operators and travel agents, he added.

Eric Dresin pointed out that the initiative aims to give the Ministry an additional tool to promote Bulgaria in the field of B2B contacts. 

The idea is to help local tour operators and destinations find counterparts on other markets - Germany, Northern Europe, the United Kingdom, to offer an additional channel for doing business and one aspect of this contribution is to support sustainable travel, the ECTAA Secretary General said. After the signing of the agreement, it remains to be clarified how to implement it in the most effective way in practice, he added.

Responding to a question on when Europe's tourist travel sector will recover, Dresin said the forecast for the first month of this year is "quite positive". The countries that are doing better are those that invested back during the pandemic, he added. The Secretary General also touched on the impact of the war in Ukraine on the sector, pointing out that the effect is different in Eastern Europe compared to Western Europe. The war in the Gaza Strip also has an impact, which creates uncertainty for Europe, he said. "However, the global outlook is positive, and we want to contribute to that," Dresin noted.