site.btaForum in Sofia to Discuss Challenges, Opportunities for Bulgarian Tourism Following Full Schengen Accession

The Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism (BUBSPA) is hosting a round-table discussion titled "Bulgaria in Schengen: Challenges and Opportunities for Tourism" at the Hilton Hotel in Sofia on January 28, BUBSPA said on Tuesday. 

Bulgaria's full-fledged membership in the Schengen area opens up new horizons for the tourism sector. The free movement of people could boost tourist arrivals but it also presents various challenges for businesses and institutions.

The round-table discussion will focus on evaluating the current state of Bulgarian tourism in the context of Schengen membership, identifying key challenges and opportunities in attracting tourists from the Schengen area and third countries, discussing measures that would ease the employment of third-country nationals to address staffing needs. Another goal of the conference is to develop recommendations for the competent authorities to improve tourism policies.

Invited to participate in the discussion are representatives from the Tourism Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, the Labour and Social Policy Ministry, the Finance Ministry, the State Agency for National Security, employers' organizations, investors and BUBSPA members, leading tourism experts, and the heads of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), the Bulgarian National Radio and the Bulgarian National Television, among others.

BTA is a media partner of the forum.

At the end of October 2024, the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism organized a forum on the development of medical tourism in Bulgaria in partnership with the Bulgarian Hospital Association and with the support of the Tourism Ministry.