Delyan Dobrev, Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism, photo by dariknews.bg
Wednesday's terror attack targeting Israeli tourists in Bulgaria has only led to one-off cases of cancelled holiday reservations, according to Delyan Dobrev, Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism.
A bus carrying Israeli tourists exploded Wednesday afternoon at the airport in the Black Sea city of Burgas, killing at least seven people and wounding more than 32.
Five people died at the site of the explosion and the injured were taken to hospital.
After meeting with tourists, tour operators and hotel owners in the Sunny Beach resort on Thursday, Dobrev explained that there was no escalation of tension in the resort after the deadly attack.
He said that an option was being considered to provide escort for groups of Israeli tourists, to divide them into groups and use minibuses, rather than big busses, for transportation, and to train the tour operators to recognize potentially dangerous individuals.
Dobrev explained that the authorities were also discussing a proposal to provide extra security guards on each bus.
He said that Bulgaria attracted a large number of Israeli tourists, with 150 000 expected to visit the country in 2012.
Bulgaria's Tourism Minister noted, however, that the Interior Minister could not provide a police officer for each bus because it lacked the resources.
"Nevertheless, tour operators can take care of that in the packages they offer," he commented.
He said that the least thing to do would be to organize additional trainings of tour operators as soon as possible to instruct them to detect potential risks.