site.btaIndustry Executive Expects Current Summer Tourist Season to Be Most Successful Yet

The current summer tourist season is expected to be the most successful to date, said Polina Karastoyanova, Executive Director of the National Tourism Board (NTB), during an off-site meeting of the parliamentary Tourism Committee held in Sozopol on Saturday. According to her, the strong results are due to the combined efforts of both institutions and the active preparation and work of the tourism industry. Karastoyanova emphasized that the successful season was made possible by the work of investors and management teams who prepared the resorts, conducted preliminary negotiations, and implemented a highly effective marketing strategy to secure contracts and attract tourists to the Black Sea coast.

She brought up two strategic issues during the session. The first was the visa regime for tourists from Turkey. “The recent announcement by Minister Miroslav Borshosh about easing visa requirements is a step in the right direction. We urge Minister Borshosh, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to find a way to ease the visa process specifically between Bulgaria and Turkey,” said Karastoyanova. Her second priority was the need to construct the “Black Sea” highway.

“There’s hardly a need to explain the numerous benefits that would come from building the so-called Black Sea highway. We view it in terms of connectivity between Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania. It would be a key factor for the Bulgarian economy and for the competitiveness of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast,” she emphasized. According to Karastoyanova, the National Tourism Board fully supports the project, as its benefits are “undeniably public, economic, and social.”

She added: “A lack of political will so far has led to many missed opportunities over the years.”