The main challenges in the sector are related to ensuring year-round employment in the industry and increasing Bulgaria's competitiveness on the international market. The Ministry of Tourism is actively communicating with the competent institutions to ease the procedures for hiring workers from third countries. This became clear during the presentation of the priorities for the development of the sector before the parliamentary committee on tourism.
Long-term measures include reforms in education and creating incentives for young people to find employment in the tourism sector. Minister Miroslav Borshosh pointed out that only 25-30% of those who graduate in “Tourism“ find employment in the sector and added: “For me, it is of paramount importance that the personnel in tourism be formed and trained here, that they are Bulgarians - that Bulgarians work in Bulgarian tourism. This is the biggest goal from the point of view of the demographic crisis and the task of retaining personnel on our labor market - if people find jobs in tourism, they will stay in the country," the minister said.
At the same time, topics such as improving the quality of the national tourism product, protecting the interests of the consumer and reducing the administrative burden on business will be among the leading focuses in the work of the ministry.
„The first and main task for the team of the Ministry of Tourism is to prepare changes to the Tourism Act and the by-laws. Changes will be proposed in the regulations for the categorization of accommodation facilities, registration of guest rooms and apartments, as well as for the certification of SPA, wellness and balneotherapy centers. Among our priorities is the development of a Regulation on the design and use of movable objects in national resorts and sea beaches, in order to achieve greater order and transparency," emphasized Minister Borshosh.
The Ministry of Tourism will work to create a Guarantee Fund for the Protection of Consumer Rights. National information campaigns will be conducted to raise awareness among tourists about their rights. An important aspect is also the increased control over tourist services, in order to guarantee high quality and good standards in the offer.
Deputies also expressed interest in the initiative of the Ministry of Tourism to create a map of inaccessible and difficult-to-reach tourist and cultural and historical sites, which Minister Borshosh announced a few days ago. “Many tourist and cultural and historical sites need rehabilitation of the road network to them. The poor condition of the road is a reason for reducing the interest of tourists, regardless of how significant the sites are. I will rely on the local authorities for information about the road infrastructure of the connecting infrastructure on the territory of their municipalities. To this end, we will work with the National Administrative Board of the Republic of Bulgaria and local tourist associations to summarize the data in a single map of inaccessible and difficult-to-reach tourist sites in a short time.“ – stated Minister Borshosh.
The Ministry is undertaking a comprehensive review of advertising and marketing activities, focusing on the effectiveness of the funds invested.
„A new unified concept and advertising products for the brand „Bulgaria“ will be developed and a completely new approach to presenting different types of tourism will be introduced.“, said Miroslav Borshosh in response to questions from the members of the commission and added: “The main goal is to direct resources to the most appropriate channels in target markets for maximum effect.“
“The Ministry will also focus its efforts on the digital transformation of Bulgarian tourism by renewing the National Tourism Portal (bulgariatravel.org), which should become a modern interactive information platform and with a mobile application“, Minister Miroslav Borshosh also emphasized.
In response to a question from the Chairman of the Tourism Commission Taner Ali about the Ministry's expectations for the 2025 summer season, Minister Miroslav Borshosh shared: “I hope that the 2025 season will finally erase the traces of the Covid crisis and that we will surpass the best results of 2019 so far. Through good advertising and marketing of mountain resorts as a summer vacation destination, the positive results can be further improved. We are actively discussing joint initiatives with them, so that the results of 2025 will be significantly better than the previous ones.“
Minister Miroslav Borshosh added in response to the questions put to him that a new working group has been created for the development of medical tourism, where Bulgaria has excellent advantages and huge potential. “The goal is to outline specific steps to establish the country as an attractive destination for health and medical tourism. We have already located the countries with interest in this area, with which we can potentially sign an agreement with their health insurance funds.“- the Minister of Tourism further shared.
During his hearing, Miroslav Borshosh also presented the team with which he will implement the priorities of the government's management program in the field of tourism.