Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova foresees 10 % increase in the number of tourists visiting Bulgaria during this summer.

Speaking to journalists during her visit to the town of Sredets on Sunday, Angelkova said that the forecast is based on the data available at present and more precise one can be made after analysis of the holiday bookings in June.

The minister added that the airports in Varna and Burgas are registering 25 % increase in the number of flights compared to last year.

The increase in the number of German tourists is expected to be between 5 and 35 % compared to last summer.

The number of Russian visitors is forecasted to increase by around 20 % based on the number of early bookings.

A growth of between 10 % and 15 % is expected in the number of tourists from Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary.

Angelkova revealed that there has been 27 % increase in the number of visas issued to Russian citizens compared to last year.

So far, the Bulgarian embassy in Moscow has issued 105 000 tourist visas, which means that on average it is issuing 4000-5000 visas per day.

The minister expects the interest of Russian tourists towards Bulgaria to be sustained until the end of the summer season.

According to statistics presented by her, Russians tourists are expressing greater interest towards the southern Black Sea coast as there аре more charter flights to Burgas.

Asked to comment on the outcome of last week's referendum on the UK's membership to the EU, in which 51.9 % of UK voters supported Brexit, Angelkova said that it was too early to say what would be the consequences for tourism.

At present, there was 10 % increase in the number of holidays spent by British in Bulgaria.

There was 10 % increase in the number of visitors from France and Romania, while 15 % rise is expected in the number of tourists from Israel.

Angelkova is on two-day visit to the area where she is scheduled to hold meetings with local authorities and representatives of the tourist sector as well as to visit different tourist sites in Sredets.

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