Minister Angelkova met the Secretary General of the UN World Tourism Organization Zurab Pololikashvili in Vienna

The Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova had a working meeting with the Secretary General of the UN World Tourism Organization Zurab Pololikashvili in Vienna. The minister visited the capital of Austria in order to take part in the 17^th European Tourism Forum, in which the head of the World Tourism Organization also participated.

They discussed the preparation of the forthcoming second International Congress on World Civilizations and Historical Routes, which will be hosted by the capital of Bulgaria – Sofia from 15^th to 17^th November this year.

Invitations have been sent to all the full members of the World Tourism Organization. Representatives of the local authorities and the business will also be invited and we expect about 600 Bulgarian and foreign guests, said Minister Angelkova. She also mentioned the success of the first edition of the forum which was held in Sofia in November 2016. The Ministry of Tourism is planning to organize a tourism fair during the congress which will present typical local and international products and customs related to history.

Zurab Pololikashvili congratulated Bulgaria and the Ministry of Tourism on the achieved excellent results in the sector over the last years. Our country will again apply to become a member of the Executive Board of the World Tourism Organization and the voting will be held in Saint Petersburg the following year as part of the General Assembly of the organization. The possibilities for cooperation between Bulgaria and the World Tourism Organization on new joint initiatives were also discussed at the meeting.