Foreign Tourist Visits to Bulgaria to Increase
The Sofia Echo, 14.07.2006
The number of foreign tourist visits to Bulgaria could increase twice if the Cabinet managed to execute the planed national infrastructure development strategy.
The strategy plans developments for the period until 2015, Darik Radio reported. If all planned projects were carried out, the number of foreign tourists in Bulgaria could reach 10 to 12 million people, Darik reported.
Annual turnover could also increase to 10 billion euro, head of the Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association (BHRA) Blagoy Ragin said.
To attract increasing number of foreign tourists Bulgaria needed to invest in road infrastructure, airport concession and environmental protection, tourism sector representatives said.
Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev acquainted tourism sector representatives with the strategy, saying it was divided in a short-term and a long-term part. By the end of the first phase in 2009, the Cabinet planned to invest 5.5 billion euro in infrastructure development, Darik said.