The Bulgarian Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova is planning to hold working meetings with her Balkan counterparts at which to discuss the possibilities of easing the regime on issuing of tourist visas.

Angelkova announced this at the opening of the first edition of the Go2Balkans forum, which is attended by tour operators and other companies in the field of tourism from ten countries of the region, reports dnevnik.bg.

The Minister did not specify any concrete possibilities for the easing of the visa regime, but she reminded that these will be compatible with the commitments pertaining to Bulgaria as an external border of the European Union.

According to her, it was realistic to expect that the alleviations in question could be introduced for the forthcoming winter tourist season.

If these measures are taken into account, the Ministry of Tourism forecasts a 4-5 % growth in the number of foreign tourists, expecting that this increase will be due to visitors from the neighbouring countries.

Angelkova announced that negotiations with the Interior Ministers and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs on the easing of the visa regime on the Balkans were forthcoming.

The Minister reminded that such a measure will be of significant importance for the development of tourism.

One of the aims of the Go2Balkans forum, which unites representatives of tourist companies, organisations, museums and municipalities from Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia and Romania, is to offer a common tourist product of the Balkans.

According to Angelkova, if such a product becomes reality, Bulgaria will be provided with the opportunity of attracting tourists from far-away destinations such as China and India.