The Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Gvozdeykov and the Minister of Tourism Zaritza Dinkova met with the Director of Civil Aviation for Europe and Asia of the Boeing Corporation Mario Ebsim and representatives of the American Chamber of Commerce. The main topic of the talks was the development of the aviation industry and tourism in Bulgaria.
"Increasing the number of airlines operating to and from Bulgaria is of great importance for the development of the airline industry in our country," said Minister Georgi Gvozdeikov. He pointed out that encouraging airlines to develop distant destinations where many Bulgarians live or are interested in travelling to will give a serious boost to the sector and increase the number of travellers.
"Should an air carrier wish to operate regular flights between Bulgaria and the US, we will immediately take the steps to launch direct air connectivity between the two countries," Minister Georgi Gvozdeikov said.
Bulgaria is part of the comprehensive Air Transport Agreement between the European Community and the United States, removing all trade barriers to flights between any point in the European Union and the United States. The air services market between the US and the EU, including Bulgaria, is fully liberalised, it became clear during the meeting.
"We are working at a fast pace within the mandate and we have a vision for long-term development," Minister Dinkova said. She specified that since September the implementation of the program for financing marketing activities of tourist services in the Black Sea municipalities in Bulgaria is underway. Thus a comprehensive marketing policy is implemented in order to attract more tourists, which also contributes to the realization of a greater flow of air passengers. This is a serious prospect for adding value and improving the quality of the country's tourism product.
