site.btaBTA Director General: Bulgaria’s Winter Tourism Messages Focus on Euro Introduction, Safety and Natural Conditions

Bulgaria’s messages for the new winter season focus on the introduction of the euro, safe holidays and natural conditions, said Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Director General Kiril Valchev, who Saturday opened the BG TOURISM – WINTER 2025/2026 forum in Pamporovo. 

The forum is organized by BTA in partnership with the Municipality of Chepelare, the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism (BUBSPA), and the resort of Pamporovo. The event is part of BTA's initiative to host forums twice a year – at the beginning of the summer and winter tourist seasons – to discuss the messages for the presentation of tourism in Bulgaria during the upcoming season with representatives of state and municipal institutions, the tourism business, non-governmental organizations, scientists, and experts. 

Opening the event, Valchev noted that this is the 8th edition of BTA’s initiative to organize forums twice a year, before the start of the summer and winter tourist seasons, to discuss the messages promoting Bulgaria’s tourism in the coming season with representatives of state and municipal institutions, the tourism industry, NGOs, academics and experts.

“Just as this year was Bulgaria’s first in Schengen with border-free travel for EU citizens, including across land borders, the introduction of the euro presents both advantages and challenges for tourism messaging. For visitors from the eurozone, including neighbouring Greece, an important message is that they can pay in Bulgaria with the same currency they use at home,” Valchev said. He added that for visitors from EU countries with their own currencies, such as Romania’s leu, the message of border-free travel remains relevant. For travellers from third countries that enjoy visa-free access to the EU, including neighbouring North Macedonia and Serbia, messaging should differ from that for tourists from visa-required countries such as Turkiye, Valchev said.

According to him, this differentiation is a challenge not only for the authorities but also for the media, particularly BTA with its foreign-language news service. Another challenge for Bulgarian media, which are read, watched and listened to by Bulgarians abroad, is to deliver targeted messages to those for whom their homeland is also becoming a tourist destination, more accessible for skiing and SPA breaks without border checks after Bulgaria’s entry into Schengen, and easier to visit with the euro for those coming from eurozone states.

Valchev recalled that during the first such forum held in Varna ahead of the 2022 summer season, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, all participants agreed on the message “Bulgaria is safe”.

He noted that images of burning rubbish bins and smashed windows caused by hooded individuals, such as those seen after Monday’s protests against 2026 budget bill in Sofia, could discourage some potential ski tourists. However, he stressed that media in a free country cannot be expected to hide facts. “The challenge lies with politicians to guarantee calm and security, which are vital for successful tourism anywhere in the world. In a democracy, this cannot be achieved by restricting political and social protests, but by ensuring they are not provoked or exploited to escalate tension,” he said. Valchev quoted St John Chrysostom: “If a man does not injure himself, no one else will be able to harm him” - a message which, in his words, is relevant to both government and opposition. Bulgaria should follow the example of countries that remain attractive to tourists despite protests and social tensions, and are valued for their vibrant democracies and free societies, he added.

BTA Director General emphasized that a pillar is natural conditions. He referred to the life of St Nicholas the Wonderworker and the story of the storm that struck a ship, illustrating that nature cannot be controlled by humans. He reminded that ahead of the 2023/2024 winter season in Samokov, the focus was on countering claims by competing European resorts that Bulgaria lacked sufficient snow, and participants agreed on the message “Bulgaria – there is a snow”. The accuracy of weather forecasts and reporting was again highlighted at the forum in Albena before the 2024 summer season, which adopted the message “Bulgaria – warm, not hot”, noting that unlike some southern European countries, Bulgaria does not experience unbearable heatwaves of over 50C. A year earlier in Banya, Razlog Municipality, participants emphasized year-round and diverse tourism despite climate change, with the message “Bulgaria – Ski, Sun & SPA”.

This message, Valchev noted, is echoed by BTA’s partner, the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism, which promotes Bulgaria as the land of the three Ws: Wellness, Wine and World Heritage. Emphasizing balneology, SPA, climate and medical tourism enables Bulgaria to showcase its unique strengths, such as its natural mineral waters, alongside assets shared with other countries, mountains for skiing and hiking, sea and culture.

He highlighted Bulgaria’s more than 550 surveyed deposits of thermal and mineral waters and over 1,600 springs, placing it first in continental Europe and second in Europe after Iceland in natural mineral and spring water resources with unique composition and drinking qualities. Bulgaria also offers proven destinations for climate therapy, including Pamporovo, which additionally provides excellent conditions for conference tourism, such as the halls of Hotel Perelik.

In conclusion, Valchev said Bulgaria must emphasize its strengths, as the most successful tourist countries do, regardless of currencies, visas, political or social tensions, or seasonal weather conditions. The media, he added, have a responsibility to present these strengths.

Among those invited to participate in the forum are parliamentary Tourism Committee Chairman Desislav Taskov (BSP – United Left), Minister of Youth and Sports Ivan Peshev, Minister of Tourism Miroslav Borshosh, and deputy ministers. The forum will also include representatives of local authorities, heads of organizations in the tourism business and resort complexes, and educational institutions in the field of tourism. Dr. Simona Veleva, Chair of the Council for Electronic Media, and leaders of media outlets that are members of the Union of Bulgarian National Electronic Media, of which BTA is also a member, have also been invited: Milen Mitev, Director General of Bulgarian National Radio and Chairman of the Union of Bulgarian National Electronic Media, Anton Andonov, Member of the Management Board of Bulgarian National Television, Gospodin Yovchev, Chief Operating Officer of bTV Media Group, Marta Evtimova, Chief Producer of News and Current Affairs at Nova Broadcasting Group, as well as other national and regional media outlets.

The forum opened with a performance by three bagpipers from the ensemble 101 Kaba Gaidi.