Over 7 million tourists visited Bulgaria from January to September, Deputy Minister of Tourism Mariela Modeva announced in Veliko Tarnovo. According to her, 5.7 million tourists were recorded for the period May-September alone, with more than 3.5 million of them being foreign.
The data were presented at the opening of the 21st International Exhibition “Cultural Tourism“. According to Modeva, the results show Bulgaria's potential to develop tourism not only during the summer and winter seasons.
„Bulgaria can be a year-round tourist destination, and efforts should be directed not only at increasing the number of tourists, but also at the quality of the tourist product“, said Mariela Modeva.Cultural tourism attracts more and more visitors
The Deputy Minister pointed out that interest in cultural and historical tourism is growing. In 21 Bulgarian municipalities, an increase of about 1% in visitors traveling for such a purpose was recorded.
At the European level, about 14% of tourists indicate cultural and historical tourism as a reason for their trip. The same share is interested in city walks, and about 4% are interested in wine and culinary tourism. Thus, the total share of these forms of tourism reaches about 32%.
On a global scale, the share of tourists interested in cultural tourism varies between 14 and 20%. In Bulgaria, there are no separate statistics for this segment, so it is measured through visits to cultural and historical sites, museums and municipalities with a concentration of cultural values.
Museums have attracted over 7.9 million visits
Visits to Bulgarian museums already exceed 7.9 million. There are about 40,000 immovable cultural values in the country, and Modeva pointed out that Bulgaria ranks third in Europe after Italy and Greece in this indicator.
According to her, the goal is to increase the quality of the tourist product and change the perception of Bulgaria as a cheap seasonal destination. Among the key factors for the development of the sector, she highlighted connectivity, accessibility, the creation of new tourism products and more effective marketing in target markets.
„We can welcome tourists with a story about our history, culture and traditions, which are more than 8,000 years old“, emphasized Mariela Modeva.
The International Exhibition „Cultural Tourism“ is held until October 9 in the halls of the Veliko Tarnovo Business Center. The event was created at the initiative of the Veliko Tarnovo Municipality, is held jointly with the Ministry of Tourism and is part of the Annual Program for National Tourism Advertising.
Sources: dariknews.bg