Bulgarian Tourism to Be Presented at Russian Duma Hearings

Bulgaria will be presented as an year-round tourist destination during hearings in the lower chamber of Russian parliament on Thursday, the Ministry of Tourism announced in a press release.

Bulgarian Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova heads to Moscow, where, together with the President of the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Policy and Tourism, Petar Kanev, will put forward Bulgaria's potential as an attractive summer holiday place for Russian tourists.

Bulgaria is among the few countries and the only one in the region invited to participate in the State Duma's hearings. 

The debates, organised with the cooperation of the Federal Agency of Tourism of the Russian Federation, will be attended also by the Chair of State Duma, Sergey Naryshkin, deputies, representatives of ministries and sectoral organisations which are related to the tourist industry.

The goal of the hearings is to outline actions for a longer-term increase of the number of Russian tourists fleeing towards destinations such as Bulgaria, Morocco, Cuba, China, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, the Dominican Republic.

Russia is among the leading markets for Bulgarian tourist services. Up to 70% of Russian citizens have travelled to Bulgaria for leisure during holidays. In 2015 alone, more than 485,000 Russians visited Bulgaria, contributing to a total revenue of BGN 400 million, against the background of a drop in numbers of Russians traveling to the country that has caused concern among Bulgarian tourism officials.

More than 400,000 of the tourists visited the country during the summer season, which shows that Bulgaria is preferred for its Black Sea coast holiday offers. 

Bulgarian government and tourist sectoral industries are, however, motivated to advertise...