site.btaNational Radio Director Proposes Setting Up Integrated Tourism Database

Bulgarian National Radio Director General Milen Mitev proposed the creation of an integrated national database containing useful information for tourists during a discussion on Monday organized by the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA).

"Something we are lacking is an integrated database with useful information for tourists. Information is scattered across multiple sources: ministries, the National Statistical Institute, all the media – everyone is trying to do something different, something separate," Mitev said during the BTA forum "BG Tourism – Summer 2026", which opened in the Sts Constantine and Helena resort. The national news agency organized the event in partnership with the European Spa Association, the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism, and the Sts Constantine and Helena resort.

Mitev stressed that the approach used by BTA and the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism in the specialized publication "BG SPA – Health through Water" is very appropriate. "We need to systematize and catalogue information in one place. Because the absence of an integrated database leads to people searching on Google. And Google can be quite inaccurate," Mitev noted.

"Perhaps we should consider whether it is time for the national media to work together to create such a unified database, with publicly funded media – BNT, BNR and BTA – naturally taking on the main responsibility in this direction, as this would be truly beneficial not only for the tourism sector but for the country as a whole," the Director General of BNR said.

Mitev outlined the three main needs of the modern tourist. The first is to have a reason to travel, emphasizing the need to distinguish between commercial advertising and news that is in the public interest – for example, the presentation of an entire region or city. The second need, highlighted by the Director General of BNR, is security and predictability. He stressed that the media should present negative news in its proper context, without exaggeration, while also highlighting Bulgaria’s advantages as a safe destination with a moderate climate. The third need of tourists, Mitev said, is practical information.

Regarding the messages for tourism that the country should promote, the Director General of BNR noted that the focus should be on sustainable year-round tourism that does not depend on weather conditions at a given moment, nor on the season, nor on factors beyond our control. In this regard, cultural tourism and spa tourism are perhaps the most important, as they operate year-round and are least dependent on weather conditions, Mitev summarized.

This is the ninth edition of BTA's initiative to host forums twice a year – at the beginning of the summer and winter tourist seasons – to discuss the messages in the presentation of tourism in Bulgaria for the upcoming season with representatives of state and municipal institutions, the tourism industry, non-governmental organizations, academics and experts.