site.btaTourism Ministry Trying to Help Several Restaurants Win Michelin Star

"We are earnestly trying to ensure that several restaurants win a Michelin star," caretaker Tourism Minister Ilin Dimitrov said on Bulgarian National Television on Saturday. "We have sent an invitation to Michelin headquarters to provide instructors for Bulgaria," Dimitrov said, adding that there are candidates for the honour but the criteria should be clarified.

According to him, Bulgaria's winter resorts, among them Bansko, Borovets and Pamporovo, offer great value for money. This winter, prices will be higher by 20-30%, but the tourist services will remain competitive.

The Tourism Ministry has done what it was supposed to do to guarantee a good start to the winter tourist season, which officially begins on December 17. The lack of snow is the only problem, he noted. "Bansko is a wonderful place even without snow. Visitors can take walks, enjoy the food," he said. The local government is considering building an airfield for small craft in order to raise the quality of the resort.

"The year 2022 has been challenging, difficult, but successful," the minister said. When Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February, "we were shocked, and we expected a 22% decline compared with 2019". By now, the decline is a single-digit figure of 8% to 9%. "Between January and October, we earned BGN 5 billion in public revenues from tourism," Dimitrov said.

"We have 6,746,000 tourist registrations. A steady trend is discernible: Bulgarians like their country and tend to spend their holidays here. This is indicative of the quality of our services. We are critically minded tourists, we have seen the world, we are well-travelled, and we stay in Bulgaria," he said.

The time people spend on holidays is divided 50-50 between the coastline and the interior. "Regrettably, the flow of foreign tourists has decreased due to the geopolitical situation," Dimitrov said.

Tourists coming to Bulgaria from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Germany have decreased considerably. "It will take some time until we make up for the decline. Thankfully, we have registered increases with regard to all other source markets."