Minister: Bulgaria’s 2021 tourist season starts on May 1
Bulgaria’s 2021 tourist season will start on May 1, it has been agreed with the health authorities and the Foreign Ministry, Tourism Minister Mariana Nikolova said on March 14.
Nikolova said that there would be “clear rules and measures”.
She said that on March 15, she would issue the order concerning the measures in regard to places of accommodation, eating places and places of entertainment. These would be valid for the 2021 season, Nikolova said.
The May holidays are coming and there should be predictability for the industry, she said.
In 2021, the Orthodox Easter Friday is on April 30. May 1, Labour Day, falling on a Saturday adds a special public holiday on Tuesday May 4, the day after the Orthodox Easter Monday holiday. May 6, Bulgaria’s St George’s Day, follows on Thursday. That means that the only two official working days are May 5 and 7, likely to be temptation to many to take leave to create a 10-day break.
Nikolova said that Bulgaria was expecting visitors from neighbouring countries such as Romania for the Easter holidays.
She said that requirements for entry of tourists into the country have been developed and agreed with the health authorities.
Next week, the EU will decide on a “green vaccination certificate”, a move supported by Bulgaria, Nikolova said.
Health Minister Kostadin Angelov said that the most important thing is Bulgaria’s participation in the “green certificate” for travel, which guarantees every tourist who wants to visit the country to have three possibilities.
These are to be vaccinated, to have had Covid-19 and have antibodies, or to have a negative PCR test. The system would facilitate travelling, he said.
Bulgaria’s Covid-19 epidemic declaration currently will remain in effect until April 30. However, recent weeks have seen an escalation in infections, against a background of the easing of anti-epidemic measures. In the past week, several districts have announced stepped-up measures in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.