To promote its tourism opportunities Bulgaria needed to open tourism bureaus abroad, as well as to set up information centres in other countries, participants in the summit aimed at the creation of national strategy for tourism development said.

Investor interest in Bulgaria's tourism sector was high, Bourgas deputy regional governor Georgi Nikolchev said. Since the sector was important for the development of Bulgaria's economy, a strategic development plan was needed, Nikolchev said.

Representatives of Bulgarian tourism agencies said that international promotion was crucial. Company representatives said that the private sector was ready to aid state institutions in this project.

Tourism information centres would be needed according to resort municipal representatives.

Bulgaria already had developed several tourism opportunities like ski and seaside tourism and now needed to look for other areas. Among these were cultural, religious and alternative tourism, Bulgarian news agency BTA reported.