site.btaNational Board of Tourism Proposes Priorities, New Minister

The National Board of Tourism (NBT) on Sunday proposed a set of priorities in the sector and recommended a candidate for tourism minister in an open letter to Prime Minister-designate Dimitar Glavchev. NBT called for an end to political appointments in tourism.

The letter, also signed by other national- and local-level organizations, says it is about time that tourism became a national priority in deed, not just in word.

NBT proposes its Deputy Chair Martin Zahariev for minister.

A list of 10 priorities recommended by NBT includes: giving the government policy on tourism a priority status and allocating a decent amount of funding for the industry in the 2025 state budget; urgently drawing up and adopting a new national strategy for sustainable development of tourism; and consolidating tourism associations into a national chamber of hotels and restaurants and a national tourism organization.

NBT calls for a digital transformation of the sector, a new approach to marketing, constantly raising employees' skills, a fund to guarantee consumer rights in the event of failed trips, a more relaxed electronic visa issuance procedure, a focus on national resorts, and active legislative work.