Bulgaria Expects Increased Tourism Demand Following Its Partial Entry Into Schengen
The Bulgarian Minister of Tourism, Zaritsa Dinkova, has said that the country expects to see a higher number of visitors entering the country as soon as Bulgaria partially joins the Schengen Area by air and sea.
Starting from March 31, 2024, Bulgaria will no longer carry out checks on persons entering from the Schengen Member States through air and maritime borders.
According to Minister Dinkova, Bulgaria’s accession will boost travel and tourism and will remove several inconveniences that travellers entering the country face, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
As BTA explains, Minister Dinkova said that tourists reaching the country will not have to pass through terminals that add to their waiting times. She further stressed that without border checks, travellers interest in visiting the country would rise.
Despite Bulgaria not being part of the Schengen yet, data show that the number of people visiting the country last year saw an increase, with winter registering some of the best figures due to Bulgaria’s famous winter destinations.
Minister Dinkova revealed that the number of tourists reaching the country in December 2023 exceeded the pre-pandemic levels. As disclosed, the last month of 2023 saw a 4.9 per cent increase in the number of visitors.
While travellers from different EU and third countries reached Bulgaria in December, Minister Dinkova stressed that, to their surprise, the number of Italian tourists grew by 48 per cent. As for third-country visitors, the Minister said that they registered a 22 per cent increase in Turkish guests staying in the country in December of last year.
Increased popularity for Bulgaria in 2024 has been foreseen by the European Associations of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (ECTAA), too.
ECTAA named Bulgaria a “Preferred Destination” for 2024, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism of Bulgaria and the Association of Bulgarian Tour Operators and Travel Agents, ECTAA aims to present the country as a destination that must be visited.
Commenting on the initiative, the Secretary General of ECTAA stressed that Bulgaria has the potential to emerge as one of the most competitive countries on the continent. The same stressed that the country has the potential to offer holidaymakers unique experiences.
As part of this initiative, ECTAA plans to also organise online information desks that promote the objectives of the country and aim to offer agents and tour operators all the information they may need. They also plan to increase the country’s social media presence.
