Bulgarian resorts are waiting for Russian tourists

Bulgarian resorts are asking the authorities to speed up the arrival of tourists from Russia. The Ministry of Tourism of Bulgaria, in turn, promises not to delay the provision of subsidies for charters and solve the problem as quickly as possible.

Bulgaria began to accept charters from European countries. In July, first of all, the country is waiting for tourists from Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Poland. But, Bulgarian resorts lack Russian tourists. In order to quickly return tourists from Russia, the mayor of Burgas, Dimitar Nikolov, has prepared an appeal to the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry with a request to cancel the mandatory 14-day quarantine for citizens of the Russian Federation and to simplify their entry procedures as much as possible.

As Mr. Nikolov explained, more than 30% of tourists come to Burgas from non-European countries, so any restrictions on the arrival of such travelers and, first of all, Russians, should be removed.

“We will be able to accept flights from countries that are not included in the list of member states of the European Union. Otherwise, hoteliers intend to demand compensation for the inability to accept tourists from these countries,” said the mayor of Burgas, adding that he will send a copy of the appeal to the Ministry of Health.

Bulgarian Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova emphasized that Bulgaria is awaiting revision of the list of countries whose citizens cannot enter the country since July 1. “In the future, we expect a positive EU decision on the tourists from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Israel, because these countries are important markets for us. Bulgaria will do everything possible to quickly restore tourist transportation volumes in the 2020 season and extend the season until the end of October by subsidizing charter flights (35 Euros for each tourist).,” she said.

As Nikolina Angelkova stressed, maximum assistance will be provided to tour operators and carriers.