India and Bulgaria to strengthen cooperation for tourism

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday gave its approval for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Bulgaria for strengthening cooperation in the field of tourism -- the second such agreement after 14 years.

The two countries on May 26, 1994, had also signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of tourism.

The main objective of the new MoU is to expand bilateral cooperation in the tourism sector, exchange information and data related to it, encourage cooperation between tourism stakeholders including hotels and tour operators and establish exchange programmes for cooperation in human resource development, said a Cabinet statement.

"Exchange of experiences in the areas of promotion, marketing, destination development and management is also an essential part of the MoU," said the statement. "The MoU will foster bilateral cooperation through film tourism for promoting the two countries as attractive tourism destinations and promote safe, honorable and sustainable tourism."

The MoU will lead to an exchange of visits of tour operators, media and opinion makers for the promotion of two-way tourism between the two countries.

As Bulgaria is a potential tourism market for India, the statement said, the signing of the MoU will be instrumental in increasing the arrival of tourists from this "important source market".

A government data said that India received approximately 5,288 tourists from Bulgaria in 2017.

Wednesday's Union Cabinet meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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