Bulgaria’s resort destinations report an increase in bookings

There is an increase in bookings from tourists since the beginning of the year compared to the previous year. At the moment there are almost no vacancies in our winter resorts, said caretaker Tourism Minister Ilin Dimitrov, who participated in a discussion dedicated on the 60th anniversary of the College of Tourism in the coastal city of Varna on February 13. He stressed that the work of tour operators who know the market well is key to attracting more tourists to Bulgarian resorts.

Bulgaria has seen an increase in bookings in almost all tourist markets. According to Minister Dimitrov, there is no shortage of problems as well.

"We need to recover the markets where we were very strong. The German market, German tourists stay the longest and they fill the wings of the season. The Romanian market is also very important for the city of Varna and the region, we are doing very well there. In Israel, bookings are going very well. Our advertising is done in such a way that we target the Bulgarian market very seriously. Our big success was that we have retained 450,000 Bulgarians more than the year before to holiday in Bulgaria," said Ilin Dimitrov, Minister of Tourism.

He said tourism attachés would be sent to Turkey, Romania and the UK. Currently, Bulgaria has tourist attachés in Poland and Germany, the effect of their work is very good, Dimitrov added.

"Data of major tour operators shows 30% more bookings are coming from Germany to Bulgaria. We will certainly not reach the levels of 2019, as the drop is 2.5% almost 3%, but this is a step in the right direction," said Ilin Dimitrov.

The tourism minister pointed out that there are still unpaid sums under the programme for accommodation of Ukrainian refugees, but a final audit is due so that hoteliers are not harmed.