Caretaker Tourism Minister Ilin Dimitrov held an informal meeting with business representatives in Plovdiv (South Central Bulgaria) on Tuesday. They discussed current issues and problems related to the development of the city and the region as a tourist destination, the Tourism Ministry reported.
"Plovdiv is recovering well after the COVID pandemic, due to the city's cultural programme the numbers are already close to those of 2019," the Minister said at the beginning of the meeting.
The talks were focused on the staffing issue. The Ministries of Tourism and Education will make joint efforts to adjust the periods for students' off-season placements. "The link between business and secondary education needs to be strengthened, the dual education model in tourism is not working at the moment," Minister Dimitrov said during the meeting. Meetings of the business community with schools from the region, where tourism is studied, will be held in Plovdiv in April.
The Ministry of Tourism plans to support the introduction of a competition for secondary school students studying tourism. The other area of focus for the Minister is working with higher education institutions.
The high cost of energy, which is a serious burden on the industry, was also discussed during the meeting. Dimitrov presented new financing opportunities for the construction of new renewable energy sources (RES) for own consumption with energy storage facilities.
The informal meeting, one of the planned 30 between the Tourism Minister and business representatives, took place in one of the newest hotels in the city and was hosted by the Tourism Council - Plovdiv. So far, Dimitrov has met with representatives of the tourism sector in Burgas, Varna, Bansko, Velingrad, and Melnik.
/DT/
