Irena Georgieva

The decline in holiday reservations in Bulgaria by Russian tourists is due to difficulties in issuing visas, says Russia's Ambassador Anatoly Makarov.

Anatoly Makarov, Russia's Ambassador to Bulgaria: A big obstacle for Russians is not so much extra payments, but the lack of multiple tourist visas.

Bulgaria reinforces its image of one of the most sought-after destinations for winter tourism. This was stated by Deputy Minister of Tourism Irena Georgieva at a meeting in Chepelare for the readiness of the municipalities Smolyan and Chepelare for the forthcoming winter season.

Gotse Delchev. 12 wine-culinary routes are under development, Deputy Minister of Tourism Irena Georgieva said during the Fifth Annual Congress of the Bulgarian Union of Balneology and Spa Tourism, Focus News Agencyreports. "The idea is to popularise Bulgarian cuisine as it is something that attracts tourists," she said.

For the period January-September 2017 visits of foreign tourists for treatment purposes were about 26,300. For the whole 2016, the visits to this purpose were over 47,500, said Deputy Minister of Tourism Irena Georgieva.

Milko Teofilov was appointed Deputy Minister of Tourism, the government's press office said, quoted by Investor.bg.

Turkey's English-language Hürriyet Daily News has published a piece quoting Turkish officials who praise Bulgaria-Turkey relations and bilateral exchange in tourism, culture, and even investment.

"While Turkey is experiencing problems with all of it neighbors, for now and God-willing, the springtime continues in the relations between us and our neighbor Bulgaria," the text begins.

Representatives of the tourist sector are moderate optimists that the forthcoming winter season in Bulgaria will be a successful one.

This was stated by Bulgarian Deputy Tourism Minister Irena Georgieva, who attended the opening of the Go2Balkans tourist exhibition in Inter Expo Center in Sofia on Wednesday.

The reception desks of all hotels will be reachable via an internal call by dialing 9, according to Irena Georgieva, Bulgaria's Deputy Tourism Minister.

Georgieva commented on the new ordinance on the categorization of hotels and accommodation sites in a Thursday interview for the Bulgarian National Radio.

A recent survey of Discovery Channel among its audience showed that Bulgaria was the top tourist destination in Europe.

This was announced by Gerard de Frouville, representative of Discovery Channel, during the opening of the Sixth international meeting of tour operators in Plovdiv on Thursday.

Azerbaijan's President Alham Aliyev is on a visit to Sofia along with ministers of foreign affairs, transport economy, energy and communication.