Speaker of Parliament Tsveta Karayancheva has met with UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili, who is in Bulgaria to participate in the meeting of EU Tourism Ministers in Sofia.

In recent years, Bulgarian tourism has been developing very well thanks to the efforts of the government and the Ministry of Tourism, said the Speaker of Parliament. Tsveta Karayancheva emphasised that this sector was a priority for Bulgaria, with a national strategy for its development.

Our main goal is to make Bulgaria a four-season destination, because our country has many resources for a successful development of different types of tourism, said Tsveta Karayancheva. She added that the National Assembly, the government, the business, and municipalities worked hand in hand to continue the development of tourism as a leading sector in the Bulgarian economy. The Parliament has prioritised all legislative amendments in support of this sector, emphasised Tsveta Karayancheva.

The Speaker of Parliament said that the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU would provide bigger opportunities for the development of the sector. We will also count of the support of UNWTO, added the Speaker of Parliament.

UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili emphasised that the informal meeting of EU Tourism Ministers had shown that Bulgaria actively worked for the development of this important sector for the Bulgarian economy and the whole European Union. In his words, the event in Sofia was extremely useful and it brought about concrete results.

I hope that the dynamic dialogue on issues related to the development of tourism will continue in the future, especially during the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, said Zurab Pololikashvili. I am confident that many new good products will be developed to attract even more tourists to your country, he added.

Bulgaria can count on the support of our organisation for the development of tourism and especially SMEs, which can be successful on the tourist market, said UNWTO Secretary General. Your good contacts, ideas and plans give us a reason to believe that you will achieve your goals in this area, he emphasised.

Zurab Pololikashvili told the Speaker of Parliament that UNWTO had developed many important and interesting ideas related to the development of cooperation in tourism in the Black Sea region.