STORY: Bulgarian summer tourist season begins
SHOOTING TIME: May 17, 2024
DATELINE: May 18, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:59
LOCATION: NESSEBAR, BULGARIA
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the event

STORYLINE:

The summer tourist season in Bulgaria was officially opened at a ceremony on Friday, which was held in the Ancient City of Nessebar on the Black Sea coast.

"There is hardly a better place for today's event than the Nessebar coast," Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said at the opening ceremony, which was attended by representatives of Bulgarian institutions and diplomatic corps in the country.
   
"Here coexist the millennial history of our lands with the comfort of modern tourist services, the splendor of our nature with the famous hospitality of the local people," Radev said at the gates of the city, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
   
Radev also said that Bulgaria had its place on the world tourist map as a year-round destination, adding that the state had to make efforts to utilize all its advantages and attract more tourists.
   
Tourism is one of the pillars of the country's economy, contributing over 10 percent to the country's gross domestic product.
   
According to statistics, 4.8 million tourist registrations were recorded in the country in the summer of 2023, while the registrations from Dec. 2023 to March 2024 numbered 1.8 million.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nessebar, Bulgaria.
(XHTV)