[size=55:2cc2wh5e]novinite 21 september 2010

Bulgaria Moves Decisively to Lure Even More Russian Tourists

Bulgaria is launching a massive advertising campaign in Russia in order to expand its successful performance with respect to Russian tourists in 2010 so far.

This has been announced by Deputy Economy Minister Ivo Marinov in charge of tourism at the Fall Tourism Expo in Moscow, as cited by the Bulgarian National Radio.

Marinov said in 2010 Bulgaria registered a record increase of the number of Russian tourists so far – 40% more than in 2009. The Bulgarian Consulates in Russia expect to issue the 300 000th tourist visa for Russian citizens this year within a few days.

The advertising campaign of Bulgaria in Russia will seek to present the country as an year-round tourist destination because of the fact that an increasing number of Russians are visiting Bulgaria not just as tourists but as owners of real estate properties.

The campaign will feature radio and TV ads, billboards, and articles in print and online media, said the Deputy Economy Minister.

"
For us Russia is a strategic market on which we will continue to rely in the future. Our advertising campaign starting in October in Russia will focus on sea and ski tourism but will also include cultural, spa, wellness, eco, and rural tourism,"
Marinov explained reminding that last week the Russian Ural Airlines launched a direct flight connection between Sofia and Yekaterinburg.

Bulgaria's Ministry of Economy, Energy, and Tourism and 13 tourism companies and organization are presenting the country at the fall expo in Moscow with a pavilion of 100 square meters.

This could help the industry because the Russians do love it in Bulgaria

They should also advertise in the UK as there is a bigger market there than they think.

Beaches in Varna and near Bourgas are as good as any in Spain and better than Italy

Very true but most Brits can't see any further than Bognor

I like that

[size=55:3i3q2uqc]novinite 23 September 2010

Bulgarian Tourism Targets Germany, Russia, UK

The Bulgarian Economy Ministry is launching an advertising project worth BGN 8 M, which aims at achieving a 3% growth of the revenues from tourists coming from Germany, UK and Russia.

Asya Yosifova, head of the project for national marketing of tourism and information of the tourism services offered in Bulgaria, said Thursday that the goal is to achieve a 5% increase of the German, UK and Russian tourists.

"
By offering a more diverse presentation of Bulgaria, with products like culture-study tours, eco and rural tourism, gourmet tourism and wine tours, we will try to diversify the offered services and attract new tourists,"
Yosifova said.

The advertising agencies, which will work on the ads for Germany and Russia, have already been chosen. The executive company for the project for the UK is yet to be selected.

According to Yosifova, Germany and the UK make about 34% of the trips in Europe and Russia is one of the fastest developing markets.

In 2009, Bulgaria was visited by 740,000 Germans, 287,000 Russians and 286,000 British tourists. The three countries rank third, fourth and fifth, right after Romania and Greece on biggest number of foreign tourists in Bulgaria in 2009.

Bulgaria’s Varna Registers Record-High Number of Russian Tourists

A record-high number of Russian tourists visited the Black Sea resorts near the northern Bulgarian city of Varna.

The Chair of the Varna Chamber of Tourism, Marin Neshkov, has announced that 2010 was a year for reviving of tourism world-wide and, in his words, the Bulgarian Black Sea coast was not an exception.

He has explained that most indicative were the number of tourists, accommodations and revenues from tourism.

Besides Russians, the resorts near Varna were visited by many Romanians and Greeks as well, adding that the tourists preferred mostly high class hotels, which offered quality services and other additional services on acceptable prices.

The Chair of the Varna Chamber of Tourism also said that despite the high temperatures recently, there has not been an increase of visitors, especially foreigners.

Neshkvo has also expressed his expectations for a better planned, balanced and managed growth of the accommodations next year.

In his words, the positive side of the recession was the new “sober” attitude towards overbuilding and urbanization of the Bulgarian Black Sea resort.

Bulgaria to Lure Romanian Tourists with Special Guide

A new tourist guide in Romanian about Bulgaria is to be launched, which will ease Romanian tourists to travel and rest in Bulgaria.

The news was announced by Emiliyan Enev, Head of a Bulgarian tourism portal for Romania. The project aims to create a specifically adjusted web and print edition, which is going to provide detailed information about Bulgarian tourist destinations in Romanian language.

The Romanian-Bulgarian Business Portal (rbbp.eu) and the media group Fox Group EOOD announced they are going to launch a campaign for the registration of Bulgarian tourist destinations and tourist firms in the printed "
A Romanian Tourist's Guide to Bulgaria"
and in the website turisminbulgaria.ro. The project is supported by the Bulgarian Embassy in Romania.

The tourist guide, which is going to be written entirely in Romanian, is going to be distributed free of charge in Bulgaria's northern neighbour, starting March 2011.

Bulgarian companies and destinations, which wish to be presented in Romania through the guide are invited by the project's initiators to visit [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] , where more detailed information about registration steps is provided.

According to statistical data, some 1 million Romanian tourists visit Bulgaria each year.

Bulgaria to Attract 500 000 Russian Tourists 2011

The Bulgarian-Russian economic relations are developing successfully, according to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

Putin, who is on a high-profile visit to Bulgaria's capital Sofia, stated that after signing three crucial agreements, concerning energy projects and welfare.

In his speech, the Russian Prime Minister emphasized on the mutual collaboration in tourism, stating that more than 300 000 Russian tourists visited Bulgaria 2010. This number may increase to 500 000 next year , according to him.

The total Bulgarian-Russian turnover has increased with 50% during the first 9 months of 2010, the Russian Prime Minister added.

“Our two nations are deeply connected in their numerous cultural roots”, Putin mentioned. He praised the recent improvement in the Bulgarian-Russian contacts with regards to the humanitarian sciences.

.

[size=55:ccplg5mz]novinite

Bulgaria Expects New Surge of Russian Tourists 2011

Bulgaria is expecting a record number of tourist visa applications from Russia for the summer of 2011, according to the Bulgarian Consulate in Moscow.

The Consulate also says it expects the summer season to begin earlier than usual - end of April or beginning of May.

2011 has been a second year of serious growth of Russian visa applications to Bulgaria. Since January, some 21,000 applications have been filed, which is a 50% increase with respect to the same period 2010 and a 100% increase with respect to 2009.

The Bulgarian Consulate in Moscow informed that it is increasing its capacities in processing applications to deal better with the increased work-flow.