site.btaBulgaria-Romania Talks Held on Eve of TTR Tourism Fair in Bucharest

Tourism Minister Miroslav Borshosh and Romanian Ambassador to Bulgaria Brandusa Predescu held a working meeting in Sofia on Thursday ahead of the TTR tourism fair in Bucharest. This year, Bulgaria will be using a larger exhibition area at TTR and will present a record-large number of organizations active in the sector, the Tourism Ministry said in a press release.

Minister Borshosh and Ambassador Predescu talked about key matters of shared interest in the field of tourism, economic cooperation and transport connectivity.

They considered the possibility of creating a common regional tourist product to present Bulgaria and Romania as a single travel destination on distant markets such as the United States, Japan and South Korea. The sides see potential to attract tourists who could be interested in the region's cultural, historical and spa heritage.

Borshosh said: "Bulgaria and Romania are not just neighbours, we are strategic partners in tourism. We share common goals such as OECD membership, and we have made a historic step by achieving full accession to the Schengen area. It will facilitate business and travel between our countries and will boost the two-way tourist flow."

The minister encouraged Romanians to visit not just the Bulgarian Black Sea coast but also other attractions in this country, including the medieval capital Veliko Tarnovo, which is already drawing notable interest from Romanian travellers.

Ambassador Predescu underscored the importance of working together with Bulgaria to upgrade tourist services and attract more visitors to the region. She commented: "Bulgaria and Romania are in a unique position to offer tourists a rich cultural heritage, splendid natural assets and various recreation opportunities. Cooperation is key to presenting the region as an attractive and competitive travel destination on the international market."

The two officials also looked at transport connectivity, including the ongoing repairs at the Danube Bridge between Ruse and Giurgiu, the planned restart of the ferry service between the two riverports, and ways to streamline the relaxed forms of border control in the wake of full Schengen accession.