site.btaBulgaria Joins Mastercard's Tourism Innovation Hub

Tourism Minister Miroslav Borshosh approved Bulgaria’s participation in Mastercard’s Tourism Innovation Hub, an international centre for tourism innovation based in Madrid that promotes the sustainable development of the sector in cities and countries seeking to use smart digital economy solutions to attract visitors. Minister Borshosh signed the agreement for Bulgaria to join the Hub with Nicola Villa, Executive Vice President, Public Sector, Strategic Growth, Mastercard. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the international tourism convention ITB in Berlin, where both Bulgaria and Mastercard presented their tourism strategies and proposals, said the Tourism Ministry on Wednesday.

"Information remains strategically the most important tool for the development of a sector as competitive as tourism. The provision of up-to-date and easily accessible data in real time is important for all stakeholders in tourism in this dynamically evolving environment," Minister Borshosh stressed.

The free inclusion of the Ministry of Tourism in Mastercard's Tourism Innovation Hub is a first step towards a new stage for the realization of data-driven policy planning and implementation at the national level. The Tourism Innovation Hub is an initiative to develop and transform the global tourism industry, making it inclusive of emerging markets, green and resilient to change, by providing innovative advice to governments and other diverse stakeholders in the tourism ecosystem, the release said.

The Tourism Innovation Hub partners with governments, public and private organizations around the world, including Greece, Spain, Croatia, Costa Rica and others, leveraging Mastercard's technology and analytics capabilities to develop a new sustainable business model for the benefit of all tourism industry stakeholders, including local small businesses in destinations.

"We welcome the Bulgarian government to this partnership with Mastercard Tourism Innovation Hub and see it as a decisive step towards strengthening digitalization in the country's tourism sector. Just after the big comeback of international travel, this joint venture will build a new narrative about Bulgaria and the experiences it has to offer," said Vanya Manova, Mastercard Country Manager for Bulgaria, Albania, North Macedonia, and Kosovo.