Bulgaria's Tourism Ministry

Russian holidaymakers are trapped at airports in Bulgaria's Varna and Burgas due to problems with Bulgaria Airplanes, Russia's Honorary Consul in Burgas Tonko Fotev told TASS on Saturday.

Bulgarian Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova said on Saturday that 5.2 million foreign tourists visited Bulgaria in the first seven months of 2018, an increase of 7% compared with the first seven months of 2017. Angelkova said her ministry's goal of 10 million foreign tourists visiting Bulgaria in 2019 was "realistic".

Bulgaria's Tourism Ministry is focused on making the country "a year-round destination and among the top destinations in Europe," Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova has said.

Bulgaria's Tourism Ministry foresees the launching of two campaigns aimed at stimulating domestic tourism, one of them being with the participation of the local authorities.

This was announced by Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova during her visit to the town of Kardzhali on Tuesday, daily Dnevnik reports.

Bulgaria's Tourism Ministry is preparing legal amendments that will facilitate the construction of ski lifts and facilities, according to Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova.

Angelkova met Monday with representatives of ski resorts, concessionaires of ski lifts and local authorities.

Bulgaria's Tourism Ministry prepares legislative amendments, which will offer better protection to users in cases of unfulfillment of paid organised excursions or bankruptcy of tour operators.

These measures are foreseen after the latest in a series of tour operator bankruptcies, which left 300 people without a holiday.

Bulgaria and Romania will set up a joint tourist information center will in China as part of the initiative of the two countries to develop joint tourist products for distant markets, according to Bulgarian Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova.

Tourism ministry officials from Egypt and Bulgaria and both countries' ambassadors are due to hold a conference on promoting bilateral tourism cooperation from Wednesday to Friday in Egypt's capital Cairo.

Forecasts of Bulgaria's Tourism Ministry for the 2015 summer season point to a 3-4% growth in tourist numbers, according to Minister Nikolina Angelkova.

Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova and Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov agreed to simplify tourist visa procedures for citizens of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Georgia.

The measure is aimed at boosting visitor numbers from traditional markets such as Russia and Ukraine, according to the press office of Bulgaria's Tourism Ministry.