Thousands of Romanians used the weekend for walks and shopping in Bulgaria.

A large number of Romanians visited the town of Pleven, local store managers said. Over the past days citizens of the town noted more visits.

Most of the Romanian visitors came to Bulgaria with their families. Tourism agents said that travel intensified between the two countries after their accession to the EU on January 1 2007.

The lower income in Bulgaria limits the number of visits to Romania, Bulgarian news agency BTA reported. The number of Bulgarians visiting the neighbouring country is several times lower in comparison to the Romanian visits.

Common projects envision more intense communication between the two countries and easier travel.

According to some of the projects, programmes will connect town located across the Danube in the two countries. Municipalities in Bulgaria and Romania will apply for European funding in order to facilitate tourism.