The Minister of Tourism in Bulgaria supports tourism operators with funds worth 4.9 million EURO

32 tour operators in Bulgaria will be eligible for state aid worth EUR 4,8 million. As the Ministry of Tourism pointed out, the purpose of the grant is to help the tourism sector recover after almost two years of inactivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the press release issued by the Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism, the total value of the state aid is 4.9 million euros, for which 139 applications were submitted - 32 of which were approved and another 73 rejected.

In addition, two applications were withdrawn before the commission had a chance to examine them, the latter having been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the state aid scheme regulated by the European Commission.

"The funds allocated after the decision of the Council of Ministers amount to 4.897.349 euros and fall within the budget limits of the measure previously approved by the European Commission on March 22, 2022. The funds allocated are for 139.825 foreign tourists who used charters for tourist trips organized by on 1 June 2021 until 14 May 2022", it is stated in the press release.

This means a subsidy of 35 EURO/passenger/flight segment. The aid is granted for each seat occupied by a tourist, only for flights with a capacity of 100 or more seats. The Minister of Tourism, Hristo Prodanov, previously revealed that Bulgaria will welcome almost six million tourists in the summer of 2022, coming from: Poland, Romania, Hungary, Germany, Serbia, Israel, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom.