Bulgarian government boosts funding to promote country as year-round tourism destination
Bulgaria’s Cabinet has agreed to provide a further 1.68 million leva (about 859 000 euro) to the Ministry of Tourism to promote the country as a year-round tourism destination, the government media service said on April 11 2018.
“The programme envisages the sustainable development and promotion of cultural and historical tourism coupled with specific types of tourism in order to overcome seasonality,” the statement said.
This requires using up-to-date marketing tools and collaboration with leading global media to reach target audiences.
The numerous marketing campaigns undertaken in co-operation with international media and tour operators, as well as the presentation of Bulgaria on international markets, are among the reasons for the extremely good results in 2017, the statement said.
According to official statistics, close to 8.9 million foreign tourists visited Bulgaria in January to December 2017, an increase of 7.6 per cent compared with 2016, which in turn had been a record year for tourism in Bulgaria.
The statement said that initial results for 2018 were also cause for optimism, with an increase of 10.6 per cent in the number of foreign tourists in January and February 2018, compared with January and February 2017.
The increase in the number of tourists in turn significantly increased revenue from foreign tourists, which according to data from central Bulgarian National Bank added up to close to 6.9 billion leva in 2017, which was 9.3 per cent higher than in 2016.
“The higher revenue growth compared to the growth of foreign tourists shows a steady trend of growing interest in high-class hotels, which is evidence that the country is attracting a higher class of tourists,” the statement said.
In recent years, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Tourism has launched what the statement described as highly successful campaigns on the euronews and CNN television channels, reaching more than 40 million viewers, mainly in Europe.
(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)