Bulgarian Tour Operators Protest against Changed Rules in COVID-19 Funds

Tour operators and travel agencies are planning a protest in front of the Presidency in connection with the granting of the latest aid to the industry. Pavlina Ilieva, chairwoman of the Future for Tourism Association, explained that the Ministry of Tourism has changed the rules and is delaying the opening of the application measure, DarikNews writes.

According to Ilieva, the change of rules at the last moment is "inadmissible and illegal", and this is the opinion of the Bulgarian Association of Travel Agencies, according to the association.

In a letter to President Rumen Radev and Prime Minister Stefan Yanev, the two organizations sent a signal for, in their opinion, inappropriate replacement of a law with a bylaw.

This is the decree from this month, which determines the conditions, criteria, procedure and amount for distribution of BGN 16.5 million for tour operators. With these funds, receivables from customers for unrealized trips in the period from March 1 to December 31 last year must be reimbursed.