Deputy Minister Irena Georgieva took part in the opening of the conference on Climate Change – Challenges to the Bulgarian Nature and Tourism

Deputy Minister of Tourism Irena Georgieva took part in the conference on Climate Change – Challenges to the Bulgarian Nature and Tourism, part of the Challenge Days Festival. The main focus of the Festival was aimed at presenting the importance of the topic of climate change on the occasion of the 21st United Nations Climate Change Conference, held in Paris.

“Tourism is among the most important economic sectors, both at national and global level. This is why it is important to pay attention to working consistently for its sustainable development”, said Deputy Minister Georgieva. According to her, one of the winning steps for Bulgaria is the development of alternative forms of tourism. “Our country has great potential for rural tourism and ecotourism”, she stressed. Bulgaria ranks second in Europe in preserved biodiversity – we have 3 national and 11 natural parks and 89 reserves, 17 of which have been declared biospheric under a UNESCO Programme. “We have preserved our traditions and customs alive and we have very good materials and resources”, added Irena Georgieva.

The event was also attended by Ivelina Vasileva, Minister of Environment and Water, H.E. Xavier Lapeyre de Cabanes, Ambassador of the Republic of France to Bulgaria, Georgi Kostov, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food, Boyan Petrov, mountaineer and biologist, Georgi Stefanov, policy and climate change coordinator of the WWF – Bulgaria, Lyubomir Popyordanov, Chairman of the Managing Board of the Bulgarian Association for Alternative Tourism, and others.