Deputy tourism minister Mariela Modeva said more than 7 million tourists visited Bulgaria between January and September. She spoke at the opening of the Cultural Tourism fair in Veliko Tarnovo.
From May to September, the country had 5.7m tourists, including more than 3.5m foreigners. In 21 municipalities, the number of visitors who came for culture and history rose by about 1%. Museum visits topped 7.9m.
This is the 21st edition of the fair. It runs from today until 9 October at the Veliko Tarnovo Business Centre and is part of the Annual Programme for National Tourism Advertising. Veliko Tarnovo municipality and the Ministry of Tourism organise it, with support from Bulgaria's Ministry of Culture.
Modeva said interest in cultural and historical tourism is growing and Bulgaria can be a year-round destination. She said the aim should be not just more tourists but a better product, and the goal is to change Bulgaria's image as a cheap seasonal destination.
The deputy minister said what matters most is how Bulgaria presents its history, culture and traditions. The country should present itself, she said, "as a place where we can welcome tourists with a story about our history, culture and traditions, which go back more than 8,000 years".
Bulgaria has about 40,000 immovable cultural monuments and sites, which puts it third in Europe after Italy and Greece.
In Europe, about 14% of tourists travel for culture and history, and the same share are interested in city walks. About 4% are interested in wine and food tourism. Together, these forms of tourism account for about 32% of travellers. Worldwide, between 14% and 20% of tourists are interested in cultural tourism.
Bulgaria has no separate statistics for cultural tourism. It is measured by visits to cultural and historical sites, to municipalities with many cultural monuments and to museums.
To grow the sector, Bulgaria needs good transport links and easy access, a new tourist product or a fresh presentation of an existing one, and good marketing and advertising in its target markets.