site.btaUPDATED Bulgarian Tourism Minister, TURSAB Vice President Present to BTA New Opportunities for Bulgaria-Turkiye Tourism Cooperation

Bulgaria's Tourism Minister Evtim Miloshev and TURSAB (Association of Turkish Travel Agencies) Vice President Hasan Eker highlighted the serious potential for the development of tourism between Bulgaria and Turkiye at a tourism forum mottoed "Bulgaria - Discover and Share", which opened here on Saturday.
 
The Bulgarian-Turkish forum held in the Exarchate House in the Sisli neighbourhood was attended by the Bulgarian Consul General in Istanbul, Vasil Valchev, representatives of Turkiye's flag carrier Turkish Airlines, the Turkish-Bulgarian Chamber, Istanbul City Hall and tour operators.

In an exclusive interview with BTA's Nahide Deniz, Evtim Miloshev said Bulgaria has had a tourism attache in Istanbul, Teodora Taskova, for a year now, which is a new element in the development of tourism with Turkiye.

Miloshev said: "This is a sign of how important the Republic of Turkiye is for cooperation in tourism. The most Bulgarian home in the megapolis of Istanbul - the Bulgarian Exarchate House - hosted a presentation of the Bulgarian tourist destinations which impressed the participants," Miloshev said.

In his words, a growing number of Bulgarians choose Turkiye for tourism, holidays and medical treatment, while Turkiye is among the top three countries in terms of tourists visiting Bulgaria.

"53,000 Turkish tourists visited Bulgaria between December 1, 2023 and March 25, 2024, and there is a potential for many more in the coming winter season. I would emphasize reciprocity, I believe it is possible to increase the flow of tourists to Bulgaria because it can give Turkiye a huge tourism potential," Miloshev said. He cited the Bulgarian Black Sea destinations, which are different from the Turkish ones, Bulgaria's winter resorts, SPA tourism and cuisine, which is close to Turkiye's but has some specifics.

"The essence of things is the cultural and historical heritage, with which Turkish citizens are unfamiliar. There are preserved Ottoman, Muslim holy sites in Bulgaria that are interesting for Turkish citizens,” Bulgaria's Tourism Minister said.

Talking about his working meeting with Turkish Airlines representatives, Miloshev said the focus was on expanding the opportunities for attracting tourists from Turkiye to Bulgaria in the context of overseas tourists on connecting flight through Istanbul and pricing policy. Turkish Airlines expressed a readiness to advertise Destination Bulgaria as part of a joint product with Turkiye.

For his part, TURSAB Vice President Hasan Eker said Turkiye has a potential of 23 million tourists to Bulgaria.

"The Çanakkale Bridge has brought us closer to Bulgaria by land because it has helped increase the tourist flow from Bulgaria to the Aegean region. We expect group and individual travel to these routes to increase. There is also significant potential for the development of health tourism, which we are emphasizing because Turkiye offers opportunities which are appreciated by Bulgarian citizens. We have about 1,000 agencies that are licensed by TURSAB specifically for health tourism," Eker said.

He added that the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies has proposed an agreement between the Turkish Ministry of Tourism and the Bulgarian Health Ministry for oncological, cardiac and ophthalmological treatment of Bulgarian citizens in Turkiye. Tourism Minister Evtim Miloshev said he would bring this up at the next meeting of the Mixed Bulgarian-Turkish Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation in Sofia, to which TURSAB representatives will be invited, Eker said.

He said Bulgarian visas for Turkish citizens are a problem in view of the increased tourist flow to Bulgaria.

TURSAB proposed an increase in the quotas for Turkish tourists and visa facilitation for tourist trips and holidays in Bulgaria. There are many requests for travel to Bulgaria - there is a contingent of around 23 million people. According to TURSAB surveys, Turkish citizens are interested not only in Sofia, Plovdiv, the Black Sea or winter tourism, but also in Bulgaria's natural sights, in Kardzhali, Shumen and the rural areas. There is a great interest in Bulgarian cuisine, whose taste is close to the Turkish citizens. Cultural and tourist programmes for visits to Southern and Northern Bulgaria could be offered on Turkiye's tourist market, starting from the areas with a compact population with Bulgarian roots and spreading to the other areas of Turkiye as well.

Miloshev said a four-day tour of Bulgaria would be organized for people in the 15-25 age group of the Bulgarian community in Istanbul, Dimitri Yotef, Chairman of the Foundation of the Orthodox Churches of the Bulgarian Exarchate in Istanbul, told BTA. Many young people have never been to Bulgaria and this tour would take them to landmark places for the community which has preserved the Bulgarian holy places and traditions in Turkiye since the 19th century.