Tourism industry seeks immediate measures to save summer season

The tourism industry is seeking urgent measures to save the tourist season in Bulgaria. A letter with proposals was also sent to the caretaker Prime Minister and to the caretaker Ministers of Tourism and Health.

There are several urgent measures that need to be taken, the chairman of the Varna Tourist Chamber, Ilin Dimitrov, told BNT morning show "The Day Begins" on May 20.

"Number one is to make a very active marketing campaign online and offline, to show that Bulgaria is a safe country, that we are ready to welcome tourists, that the anti-epidemic measures in the country are the easiest," he added.

Dimitrov gave as an example Greece and Turkey, where there are curfews.

"Another important measure is to build a testing infrastructure. For the season, according to the operator of Varna Airport and Bourgas Airport, we expect 250,000 people to arrive in Bourgas and 150,000 people in Varna. This means that we have to conduct 35,000 tests only for the airports per day," he commented.

The third point is to launch Phase 3 for the € 35 aid to tour operators.

According to hotelier Stanislav Stoyanov, a moratorium on bank loans should be introduced because last year a zero season was announced, and currently there are almost no bookings, hotels are very uncertain and banks have already started looking for the fees.

"The 60/40 or 80/20 employment support measures should continue until the end of the season, because at this stage it is very important to be able to support the development of the hotel business," the hotelier said.

According to him, mass vaccination in the tourism industry will contribute to a positive direction and so we will advertise as a safe area.

"The purpose of the green corridor is for those tourists who travel to Bulgaria from Ukraine, Moldova, the Baltics, and others, so that when passing through other countries, to have a secured corridor, and not to be stopped," the hotelier added.