"Urbo Studio" is a new shared information system for tourists that will list sights and events across Bulgaria. It was presented in Veliko Tarnovo at the annual meeting of tourist information centres (TICs).
The centres will add data on sites, holidays, festivals and other events. The platform will also show prices for museum tickets, transport, parking and hotels. A tool will let users follow current events in Bulgaria in real time.
Visitors will find the content on the "Discover Your Bulgaria" portal in more than 30 languages. They will also be able to leave feedback there.
The meeting is part of the 21st International Cultural Tourism Exhibition. The three-day show is held in Veliko Tarnovo together with the Ministry of Tourism and with support from the Ministry of Culture. Borislav Yordanov, head of the Tsarevgrad Tarnov municipal tourism agency, opened the event.
Desislava Mihalkova of the Ministry of Tourism said the ministry is working with municipalities and TICs on a single database. Working groups have been set up for this, and one of them covers local government.
Speakers also discussed the link between tourism education and business. In the 2025/2026 school year, 3,867 students are studying tourism-related subjects at 23 universities. Another 16,845 pupils are in such courses.
Prof Vera Nikolova of Sofia University said 25% of tourism graduates work in their field. The studies presented show that trained staff mostly find jobs in the private sector, and only 8.5% of them run their own business in the field.
A panel called "Tourism in Focus" looked at how to promote the lesser-known cultural and historical heritage of the Fore-Balkan, chitalishte traditions and local festivals. It also looked at ways to improve tourist exchange between Bulgaria and China.