site.btaBulgaria and Montenegro to Set Up Working Group on Joint Action Plan

The Ministry of Tourism is working very well with its partners in Greece and Turkey. A working committee between the Bulgarian and Turkish sides is to be held very soon, which will be dedicated to tourism problems, said Deputy Minister of Tourism Irena Georgieva in Burgas. In her words, the ambition is to establish a similar working committee with Greece as well. Georgieva stressed the importance of close cooperation in the field of tourism with Bulgaria's neighbouring countries and pointed to a Joint Action Plan with Montenegro as a positive example.

"This plan aims not only at the development of tourism, but also at the creation of air links between the two countries," Irena Georgieva said. The document sets out activities in which the Ministry of Transport and Communications will participate, and a working group is to be set up with representatives of four ministries from Bulgaria and Montenegro, she said. She added that through aviation connectivity between the two countries, the whole region will be able to be promoted. "This is a successful approach to reach distant markets," Georgieva said.

In Burgas, she took part in the fourth international forum on air connectivity and tourism, organized by the Rafael - info, culture and tourism Association and the the Bulgarian Aviation Industry Association. On one of the main discussion panels, Irena Georgieva announced that a plan for cooperation in the field of tourism and aviation connectivity is also being discussed with Albania.

At the beginning of February, Montenegro's Minister of Tourism Simonida Kordic announced that working groups will be established by the end of the month to work on the opening of a direct air route between Podgorica and Sofia, as well as on communication between the Ministries of Tourism of Montenegro and Bulgaria on the idea of a joint approach to attract tourists from distant markets. The plan between Bulgaria and Montenegro was signed in Podgorica at the end of October last year by caretaker Tourism Minister Evtim Miloshev and the Minister of Tourism of Montenegro Simonida Kordic. The document focuses on the period 2025-2027 and with it the two countries committed to strengthen cooperation in key tourism areas, including winter, cultural, wine, pilgrimage and spa tourism, and expressed their will to ensure air connectivity between the Balkan capitals.