Burgas will host a marathon run by TUI, the world's biggest travel company. It will take place after Eurovision and before the busy summer season kicks off, tourism minister Ilin Dimitrov told Bulgarian National Television.

A change to the law is coming that will send half of all tourist tax money into advertising and events tied to flight links. The minister says this will spread tourism ads beyond the usual spots and bring more events, festivals and sports competitions. He said this will stretch out the season, and the industry badly wants the change.

Dimitrov called the landing of a TUI plane named "Varna" at Varna airport perhaps the biggest news of the season. The company held a meeting of its top management team in Bulgaria and signed a three-year deal with the government for joint ad campaigns.

TUI has promised to double the number of its customers coming to Bulgaria, from 200,000 to 400,000. These visitors fly in and stay for seven to 10 days. The company runs more than 190 planes, plus ships and hotels, and has already said it wants to invest in Bulgaria.

"We'll help them, and we hope that in the next few years we'll have a few TUI-branded hotel clusters here," Dimitrov said. He added that the goal isn't just to bring in TUI — Bulgaria wants to get all ten of the world's biggest travel firms to hold meetings like this here. "We want to put Bulgaria on the map more and more," the minister said.

Britain is the market Bulgaria lost this year. TUI has promised to bring it back in 2028 if 2027 goes well for Bulgaria. Dimitrov said the logistics for Eurovision look excellent, flight links are getting better, and the event will give the season a real boost.

Final figures for last summer aren't in yet, but the numbers will come close to the previous season, the minister said. The start of the year was very hard because of lost markets, and the industry is now trying to make up for it ahead of next summer.

On World Tourism Day, Dimitrov thanked the 135,000 people working in the sector. Today in Varna, an association of universities that teach tourism will be set up, and afterwards the minister and university rectors will plant trees in the Sea Garden, marking the start of an International Tourism Alley.