How to increase the flow of tourists to Bulgaria

“Bulgaria, maintaining the status of a family holiday destination, can improve its position on the Russian market. But for this the country will have to solve a number of issues - from visa allowances to promotion in Russia”, - say tour operators. Market participants note, that the demand for tours to Bulgaria at the current moment can be assessed as stable. According to ANEX Tour operator, in comparison with the last year there are no significant changes in demand for Bulgaria. “At the beginning of the season we saw a slight decline in connection with the growth of Euro rate, now the situation has stabilized", - the company's press service informed. According to Intourist tour operator, in general, the demand remained at the level of the last year, with a slight decrease in some periods. The press service of ICS Travel Group estimated the decline of sales of the direction as 10-12% against 2017. TUI Russia believes that one of Bulgaria's main competitors is Turkey. "Turkey significantly attract the attention of tourists by absence of entry visas, an availability of services on "all inclusive" base and a loyal price policy of hotels", - the company says. Marina Makarkova, the Head of public relations department of Coral Travel tour operator also draws attention to the visa factor. "The demand for Bulgaria is stable - a mild climate, direct flight, the lack of a language barrier and affordable prices contribute to this. The only drawback is the presence of a visa", - the expert said. According to tour operators, in comparison with the last year, tours to Bulgaria have risen in price - mainly due to the decline of the Ruble rate. According to the experts of Intourist, the average price of the season-2018 increased by 10-15% against the season-2017. This year the approximate cost for family (two adults and a child) in a 4-stars hotel on "all inclusive" base is 1200-1500 Euros for a week of rest and for two adults in a 4-stars hotel with AI for 7 nights is about 850 Euros.