The event is organized by the Varna Tourism Chamber. Participants include Regional Governor Mario Smarkov, Deputy Mayor Snezhana Apostolova, the Minister’s adviser Krasimir Aleksandrov, as well as representatives of the business community, academia and various institutions.
So far, developments in the Black Sea region have had no impact on early bookings for summer 2027, Dimitrov said. He stressed that all stakeholders in the sector must continue to promote Bulgaria as a safe and peaceful, four-season destination, pointing out that the country has no protests of the kind seen in France, Italy and Spain. “Let’s not look for problems where there are none,” Dimitrov said.
The Minister said bookings for the winter season were progressing well and hoteliers were feeling confident. He added that he will attend World Travel Market London 2026, where he is due to meet leading tour operators and airlines. “We are continuing our efforts to boost interest in Bulgaria and are negotiating directly with the biggest companies, without intermediaries,” Dimitrov said.
He expects talks on staging a TUI-branded marathon in Varna, on the Black Sea, to be finalized in London. The plan is to hold the race in the seaside city in mid-May 2027. A marathon traditionally takes place in Varna that month and, if the municipality embraces the idea, it will be given the TUI brand, Dimitrov said. He expects the number of participants in the athletics event to rise sharply if the plan goes ahead, potentially exceeding 10,000, as TUI will also be involved in selling tickets for the event.
Dimitrov said that a tourism data collection and processing observatory is expected to become operational in Varna in 2027. He is due to present the initiative on November 25 in Abu Dhabi at a meeting of the UN World Tourism Organization. “If the idea receives support, Bulgaria could become home to a global observatory for measuring quality in tourism, which would also be a product that we can export,” the Minister said.
The Minister said that amendments to the Tourism Act that require from mayors to allocate 50% of tourism tax revenue to promotion and connectivity will come into force in 2027. “This amendment will effectively decentralize the country’s entire promotional strategy. Local communities will be able to develop their own strategies and will have very effective tools for negotiating directly with businesses,” Dimitrov added.
