site.btaUPDATED BG TOURISM - WINTER 2025/2026 Forum Opens in Pamporovo
The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) organizes a forum entitled "BG TOURISM – WINTER 2025/2026" on Saturday at the Perelik Hotel in the resort town of Pamporovo. The discussion was opened by BTA Director General Kiril Valchev.
The forum is organized in partnership with the Municipality of Chepelare, the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism (BUBSPA), and the resort of Pamporovo.
This is the 8th edition of the 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.
Among those invited to participate in Saturday's discussion 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.
Winter messages from BTA's forums
So far, on the eve of three winter seasons, the BTA has brought together representatives of the legislative, executive, and local authorities in search of the best message for the tourist season, which Bulgaria should send to its citizens and guests from abroad before the season begins.
The slogan for the 2024/2025 winter season was "Union of Ski, Sun and Spa - Without Borders." Bulgaria welcomed the season with expectations for the positive effects on tourism from the country's full membership in the Schengen border-free area.
The message for the 2023/2024 winter season was that it is a safe destination at a good price and without restrictions.
For winter 2022/2023, Bulgaria promised to offer a vacation without restrictions. "A world is emerging in which we are forced to restrict ourselves in our daily lives due to economic difficulties and COVID-19. In Europe, which is reducing its daily energy consumption because of the war in Ukraine, Bulgaria can send a message to both Bulgarians and foreigners who come here that at least their vacation days will be without restrictions," commented BTA Director General Kiril Valchev on the day of the BTA's first winter tourism forum.
Tourism between key events for Bulgaria and daily life
During this period, the country went through a landmark event that became a national goal - full membership in Schengen - and is now on the verge of achieving the next one - admission to the eurozone on January 1, 2026. Both goals are loaded with high hopes for the industry and for Bulgarians. For Schengen, these goals were "valued" by the State in the form of an expected additional BGN 300 million in tourism after Bulgaria's accession on January 1, 2025 to the Schengen area by land. The value of the country's eurozone entry was presented as Bulgaria becoming a more attractive and secure tourist destination with a sector that is ready to adopt the single European currency.
By comparison, during the period of the other major national goal - Bulgaria's accession to the EU - statistics show that interest in Bulgaria grew, as did the foreign tourist flow, with the number of visits by foreign citizens to Bulgaria reaching 7,725,700 in 2007, up by 3% from 2006. Visits by foreigners in 2007 for the purpose of excursions and holidays numbered 4,218,700.
Between the two goals - Schengen and the eurozone - the industry struggled with its current problems: VAT rates, more budget for national tourism advertising, facilitating procedures for hiring staff from third countries due to the chronic shortage of workers, expectations for a guarantee fund in tourism, development of mountain tourism, energy prices, and improving access to mountain resorts.
What was winter 2024/2025 like
The winter season in 2025 was defined by the State and the industry as Bulgaria's strongest, with statistics showing an increase in tourists and overnight stays for the January-April 2025 period compared to the same period in 2024. The total number of tourist registrations exceeded 2 million, an increase of 6.4% compared to January-April 2024, and overnight stays totalled close to 4.5 million, up by 4.5%. Compared to the same period of 2019, the increase was 23.7%. The number of Bulgarian tourists during the period analyzed reached 1,389,000, and foreign tourists numbered 632,000 (a record number, as it exceeded 600,000 for the first time during the period). Eurostat data for January-March 2025 ranks Bulgaria among the top 10 EU destinations in terms of growth in overnight stays for the first quarter of the year, 3.9%. With overnight stays for the first quarter of 2025 numbering 3.4 million, Bulgaria surpassed Slovakia (nearly 3.2 million), Serbia (2.5 million), Croatia (nearly 2.4 million), Albania (751,000), the Republic of North Macedonia (314,000), and Montenegro (289,000), according to statistical data.
/DS/
Additional
news.modal.image.header
news.modal.image.text
news.modal.download.header
news.modal.download.text
news.modal.header
news.modal.text