UN Tourism has further strengthened its partnership with the Republic of Bulgaria, hosting a series of high-level meetings with its political leadership and welcoming football legend a philanthropist Hristo Stoichkov as a new Ambassador.
The UN Tourism delegation, led by Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, met with President Rumen Radev to advance shared goals around growing tourism as a pillar of sustainable economic growth. High-level bilateral meetings with Minister of Tourism of Bulgaria Miroslav Borshosh, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev, focused on key areas for achieving this goal, notably investments, education and diversifying the sector.
The Republic of Bulgaria has established itself as one of Europe's most exciting tourism destinations
Secretary-General Pololikashvili commended Bulgaria for its commitment to responsible and inclusive growth. He said: "The Republic of Bulgaria has established itself as one of Europe's most exciting tourism destinations. With UN Tourism, its focus on education and training and growing investments into the sector will serve as the solid foundations for long-term sustainable growth, both in urban centres as well as rural communities."
Ballon d'Or winner Stoichkov joins UN Tourism
In Sofia, UN Tourism officially appointed Bulgarian sports legend Hristo Stoichkov its newest Special Ambassador for Sports Tourism. Over the course of his career, he represented Barcelona Football Club, won the Golden Boot at the 1994 World Cup and played in Italy, Saudi Arabia and the USA. Since retiring from the game, he has worked tirelessly as a philanthropist and a supporter of youth empowerment through sport.
As a Special Ambassador, Stoichkov will help further advance UN Tourism's work on growing sports tourism as a driver of inclusive opportunity and economic diversification. He will also bring his influence and insights into UN Tourism's work to promote tourism education in schools everywhere and make the sector a key pillar of opportunity for global youth.
UN Tourism and Bulgaria: Strengthened collaboration
Also in Sofia, the UN Tourism leadership met with Miroslav Borshosh, Minister of Tourism of Bulgaria, to sign a Letter of Intent for future cooperation.
The two parties will work to grow and direct investments into Bulgaria's tourism sector, a key priority for UN Tourism and its Member States both in Europe and globally. The enhanced collaboration will also focus on another key priority for the sector, promoting education and continued training in the sector.
Finally, with a focus on supporting the diversification and rural development, the two parties agreed that the 9th edition of the UN Tourism Global Wine Tourism Conference will be held in Bulgaria, with the date to be confirmed soon.
