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Cleaner tourism and more tourists at the sea

Monday, Aug 07, 2017

The sea tourism in our country generates more than 70% of the revenues in this sphere on an annual basis. Only last year, from May to October, our country has been visited by more than 6 million foreign tourists, which is 18% growth. This was announced by the Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova during the discussion on "Cleaner Sea Tourism", held today in the conference hall of Burgas Municipality. The Forum was organized by the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (KRIB) and the Portal of Bulgarian Municipalities Kmeta.bg.

The positive trend continues this year; from January to July our country has been visited by more than 3.3 million foreign guests, which is about 8% growth compared to 2016. Only in the Burgas region the revenues from overnight stays for the first five months of this year are more than BGN 20 million, which is 2% growth.

"The issue of clean tourism is extremely important. And we are trying to build it up to ensure sustainability and higher quality. It is not by chance that right at the beginning of the summer season, together with the Ministry of Environment and Water, we made an inspection on the Black Sea sewage treatment plants. We also checked if the movable establishments are connected to the sewerage network. For the first time, we organized a working group between the two ministries and the Regional Health Inspection to carry out the inspections," Angelkova commented.

In her words, the construction of purification facilities along the Black Sea coast continues. Last year the plants near Nesebar, Sozopol, Pomorie were finished. The expansion of the treatment plant in Zlatni Pyasatsi with start this autumn.

"The extremely important issue of ensuring a cleaner sea is related to the regulation of camping. Camping in unregulated places leads to tons of waste and to environmental damages. That is why the Ministry of Tourism initiated a working group, which is to review the decisions taken last year on determining what camping is and what types of camping there are," Angelkova said.

She pointed out that changes in the Special Planning Act are planned, which would allow the construction of campsites under a simplified regime, so as to meet the needs of those who want to practice this kind of tourism.

"We often compare Greece and Bulgaria. In terms of camping, Greece is a very good example. There, camping is allowed only in the places designated for the purpose. For offenders, there is a fine of up to EUR 150 and up to three months imprisonment. We are discussing the regulations and we already have a clear idea of the legislation of the other EU member states that we are discussing at the meetings of the working group," added the minister of tourism.

The deadline for submitting proposals is 15th September, after which the ideas will be merged into the general act amending the current Tourism Act.

Angelkova reminded that the concessionaires and tenants are responsible for the cleanliness of the sea beaches. If none exist, the responsibility is transferred to the municipality on whose territory the beach is located.

Source: www.kmeta.bg