Tourist sector companies and associations have initiated the creation of what they will call a National Tourism Board.

The constituent forum for the organisation would be held in Sofia on May 3, the initiative committee for the establishment of the board said on March 31.

The decision to initiate the board had been made at a working meeting, and was based on the need to have a representative association of the Bulgarian tourist industry uniting the largest investors, non-governmental organisations and businesses from accompanying sectors that provide for tourism.

The idea was first raised in January this year by the Bulgarian Convention and Visitors Bureau (BCVB), the Bulgarian Association of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs (BAHR) and the National Association for Spa Tourism (NAST).

Members of the initiative committee include Krassimir Stanev, executive director of Albena AD (the company operating the infrastructure of the Black Sea resort by the same name); Borislav Dionisiev, owner of Best Tour; Mladen Mutafchiiski, owner of Selena Holding; Petya Slavova, head of Festa Holding; Yordan Radev, executive director of the International Fair - Plovdiv; Valentin Yossifov, manager of TUI Bulgaria; Kamen Kichev, regional manager of Austrian Airlines; and other industry representatives.

BCVB head Poli Karastoyanova, BAHR head Blagoi Ragin and NAST head Stanimir Stankov are also on the committee.

“The future National Tourism Board will formulate and seek solutions to essential problems related to regional development, infrastructure, beach and airport concessions, promoting new tourist products, developing new markets, building a network of Bulgarian tourist offices abroad under public-private partnership schemes, and a bigger budget for advertising Bulgarian tourism abroad,” the initiators said.

Bulgaria is becoming an important spot on the map of the world tourism and this was proven on March 29, when it was announced that American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) executive committee member Frederic Bursch would lobby for Bulgaria to host ASTA’s annual meeting in 2008 or 2009.

In Bursch’s words, this country has a chance to win the hosting, which would not only boost its image but will also bring financial benefit.

Bursch said he would lobby before his colleagues on the executive committee and will share his impressions from Bulgaria. The decision of the choice of the host country will probably be made in August or September this year.

Bulgaria was an unfamiliar destination and hosting such a forum would attract tourists not only from America, Bursch said.

Maybe not popular in America, Bulgaria continues to be popular in Europe, as the most recent information from the leading European tour operator TUI shows.

The company plans to bring more than 79 000 UK vacationers to Bulgaria this year, twice as many as in 2005.

TUI expects a five per cent drop in the number of German tourists. The firm brought 116 550 German tourists to Bulgaria’s resorts last year.

“Unlike Germany’s tourist market, UK and Scandinavian tourist markets are showing a continuous positive growth trend. Bulgaria is still a new and interesting destination and it a offers competitive price-quality ratio,” TUI Bulgaria’s Yossifov said.

On the other hand, one in every four Germans could not afford a vacation this year, according to a recent survey by German pollster EMNID, he said.

TUI plans to draw in 11.3 per cent more Scandinavian tourists to Bulgaria this year over the 91 248 in 2005.

Yossifov said he expected the number of foreign tourists visiting Bulgaria in 2006 to increase by about five percent from 4.84 million in 2005.

However, he warned that a planned increase of Value Added Tax for tourist services to 20 per cent from the current seven per cent could raise prices by at least 10 per cent and scare off holidaymakers.

He said the higher prices made Bulgaria less competitive compared to similar destinations like Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey.

TUI holds 29.5 per cent of the tourist market in Germany, 32 per cent of the Scandinavian tourist market and 10 per cent of the UK tourist market, Yossifov said.