site.btaUN Tourism, Plovdiv University of Food Technology Sign Memorandum of Cooperation

A Memorandum of Cooperation between UN Tourism and the Plovdiv University of Food Technology was signed during the 9th UN Tourism Global Conference on Wine Tourism in Plovdiv on Monday.

"To be able to sign such an agreement between the most influential World Tourism Organization and one of the most influential universities in Bulgaria and in Plovdiv is an extraordinary achievement", Tourism Minister Miroslav Borshosh said. "We started with dozens and hundreds of scholarships for our most talented Bulgarians who want to develop at a world-class level in tourism. Now, with this signature, I think we have opened a track through which Bulgarians will receive the necessary world-class education", he emphasized.

He thanked Plovdiv Mayor Kostadin Dimitrov, the university management, as well as the Bulgarian News Agency, which is a major media partner.

"This is the first time we have signed such a memorandum. I was very surprised by the vision and approach to wine tourism and agriculture. There are many opportunities in wine tourism, in agriculture, in the food sector and gastronomy. We are happy to have such serious partners with experience and knowledge," said UN World Tourism Organization Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.

Plovdiv University of Food Technology Rector Prof. Galin Ivanov defined the partnership with the World Tourism Organization as key and strategic for Bulgarian tourism. "I am convinced that it will help us take our education in tourism and related culinary technologies, including wine tourism, to a new international level", he noted.