site.btaTourism Minister: Number of Tourists in Winter Resorts Up by over 4.5% in December, Y/Y

The number of tourists in Bulgarian winter resorts grew by over 4.5% in December year on year, Tourism Minister Zaritsa Dinkova said here on Saturday. The most significant increase was registered in Turkish guests, by nearly 22%.

The number of tourists from neighbouring countries (Romania, North Macedonia, Serbia, Greece) went up too. Foreigners visiting Bulgarian cities and spending a weekend here too increased in number, particularly those from Spain and Italy, Dinkova specified.

Regarding the preparation for the 2024 summer season, Dinkova said she will initiate a meeting with her colleagues from the Tourism Ministry involved in the work in this sector to talk about the timely solution of possible problems in the sector. The ministers of Regional Development and Public Works, of Health, and of Environment and Water could take part in these talks.

In Varna, Dinkova presented a new programme for supporting Black Sea municipalities, noting that this is the first such partnership between the Tourism Ministry, local authorities and businesses. A total of 21 projects will be funded under the pilot programme, which will cover 60% of the projects' value with its budget of nearly BGN 5 million. The municipalities in Varna Region will get some BGN 2 million of funding for their projects.

Varna Mayor Kotsev specified that his city has won funding for two projects worth nearly BGN 48,000. To implement these, Varna Municipality will partner with two tour operators. The tourism ads will focus on Varna as an year-round destination offering opportunities for spa, balneo and weekend tourism. The German market is key for Varna, so the efforts will be directed there.