Media Representatives Call for Greater Number of Positive Stories from Tourism Sector

Dimitrina Solakova, BTA correspondent Irina Shopova, BTA correspondent Presiana Valkanova

From left: Tourism Ministry Directorate head Svetoslav Stoynev, Bulgarian National Radio Director General Milen Mitev, and Anton Andonov, member of the Bulgarian National Television Management Board, Pamporovo, Southern Bulgaria, December 6, 2025 (BTA Photo/Boyan Botev)

Pamporovo, Southern Bulgaria,

06.12.2025 14:31

(BTA)

At a forum on BG TOURISM - WINTER 2025/2026 here on Saturday, representatives of the media called for a greater number of positive stories coming from the tourism sector. The event was organized by the BTA in partnership with the Municipality of Chepelare, the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism (BUBSPA), and the resort of Pamporovo.

The forum 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.

Anton Andonov, member of the Management Board of Bulgarian National Television (BNT), said that in recent years, they have observed a clear trend towards higher quality services, especially in winter tourism, both in hotels and restaurants and in specialized tourist services. The media have a very important role to play in this process, he added. According to him, more trust, more awareness, and better partnership need to be built. "We should not be just observers; we should shorten the distance between business and customers," he noted. As a potential solution for improving communication effectiveness, Andonov suggested organizing more meetings between representatives of the major media outlets, journalists, and representatives of the tourism industry. He also commented on the advertising of tourist destinations in Bulgaria.

He also commented on the advertising of tourist destinations in Bulgaria. "Advertising is a package that can be modern, bright, impressive, but if the tourist service behind it and the tourist product are not of sufficient quality, the customer will not reach for it, at least not for a second time. Winter tourism has serious potential, but success depends on our joint actions," Andonov said.

"We believe that we are doing quite well in working hand in hand with the Ministry of Tourism, especially in recent years. We are running many campaigns and have two programmes in which we reveal the most attractive places in Bulgaria," he added.

The Director General of Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), Milen Mitev, emphasized that tourism is a source of good news because when it is discussed, it shows the audience that Bulgaria is a place worth visiting. He called on businesses and hoteliers to seek out the media more actively and appealed to them to organize more cultural events and include them in municipal calendars. The media are too cautious in reporting on business achievements for fear of it turning out to be hidden advertising, but when the aim is to inform the audience, there is no problem in mentioning names, Mitev argued.

Mitev also said that in April 2025, BNR and BNT will organize one of the largest forums of the European Union for radio and television - Media Summit. This is also a great opportunity for media executives from all over Europe to understand what Bulgaria has to offer in the field of tourism, said Mitev.

The Chief Operating Officer of bTV Media Group, Gospodin Yovchev, emphasized that in order for the tourism sector to develop, coordinated and targeted efforts are needed from all representatives of the state authorities, institutions, the sector, the media, and the citizens of Bulgaria. In his words, when one talks about media support, one means reporting the facts, not distorting them. "We have always strived to do so, even though over the years we have been criticized for sometimes focusing more on the negative than on the positive," Yovchev said. He pointed out that the media need representatives of the sector to "feed" them with positive stories and added that the power of the media is to tell them and make them public. "We need to work together to improve the self-awareness of Bulgarian and foreign tourists so that we can make the tourist experience even better and the attitude towards nature and facilities even more appropriate in order to ensure the sustainability of the tourism sector," Yovchev added.

Iliyan Velkov, representative of Nova Broadcasting Group, also emphasized that the media need good news coming from the sector. In order to have a strong winter season, we need new attractions and improvements to existing ones, which has been happening in recent years in Pamporovo, but there is still room for improvement. He pointed out that the Mayor of Chepelareis actively working to develop more flights from Plovdiv Airport, as connectivity is one of the leading problems in the region.

/DS/