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Sofia pitches for tourists
Sofia Echo Com, Velina Nacheva, 16.04.2004
A STRATEGY is in the works to draw tourists to Sofia. Bulgarian tour operators have discussed a draft strategy and action plan called, "Sofia - from a capital to a tourist destination" that aims to draw tourists to the capital. The 10-year strategy will be completed by July and will be co-sponsored by local tourism companies, the Sofia municipality and the Economy Ministry. Various working groups of entrepreneurs will contribute to the plan. The strategy will be approved and implemented by the Sofia municipality, the Economy Ministry and businesses, and each of these will contribute funding. The strategy will propose opportunities for developing cultural, congress, sport entrepreneurship and eco tourism in the capital. The strategy also includes promoting the adjacent Vitosha nature park as an attractive tourist attraction. "The airport infrastructure and the non-fixed roads are the capital's major problems as far as inflow of tourists is concerned," Sofia mayor Stefan Sofianski said. The strategy aims at creating a vision of Sofia and prerequisites for sustainable development of the capital. "Bulgaria needs to create destination Sofia, in the same way that this has been achieved with Prague, Budapest and Warsaw," said Rumen Draganov, chairperson of the Tourism Council. The municipal company will give 120 000 leva of the sum which it collects from hotel overnights and will spend it on promoting Sofia as tourist destination. According to Sofianski, apart from infrastructure, there are two other big problems about Sofia that need to be solved. These are the roads to the airport, and the Sofia-Nis highway - to enable the quicker arrival of tourists by road from Western Europe. "The strategy is highly dependent on businesses and therefore all concerned parties have to unite," Draganov said. Another effort to promote the tourist industry, which was one of the fastest-expanding sectors of the national economy in 2003, this summer is the eased visa fees that tourists from Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus will pay. Until April 1 next year, citizens of these countries who visit Bulgaria as organised tourists will be charged only 20 euro to have their visa application form completed. This was decided by the Cabinet last Thursday. While strategies for promoting Sofia as a tourism destination have been initiated, Black Sea resorts may face an ebb because of a lack of interest in summer tourism by the international hotel chain RIU, which has decided against bringing summer holidaymakers to Albena resort this season. Calimera aktivhotels, another firm, also has decided against bringing visitors to the MG Corporation-owned resort at Paradise Beach near Saint Vrach. The first more concrete figures indicating the performance of the summer season will be available after the season opens on June 1. see source
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