Bulgaria, which has enjoyed increasing interest from the Indian outbound market, is now set to focus on MICE groups this year, revealed Stefan Ionkov, Head of Commercial and economic Office at the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria, in an interview with T3 on the sidelines of SATTE. According to him, while trade and media FAM trips continue to be the NTO’s marketing priority in 2014, the NTO also plans to organise FAM trips for the corporates this year, in a bid to showcase the destination to the key decision makers.
“Bulgaria has all the right infrastructure and activities to grow its MICE arrivals from India. By hosting corporates, we want to give them the first-hand experience of how Bulgaria can accommodate the travel requirements of Indian MICE visitors by highlighting Bulgarian nightlife, shopping, day time activities, Indian cuisine options and Golf courses, in addition to the available MICE facilities. I am sure when the final customers experiences these, they will send their groups to Bulgaria,” Ionkov added.
The other market segments that the NTO is eyeing include FIT, honeymooners and leisure travellers. The NTO has also taken initiatives to bring the Bulgarian suppliers in contact with the Indian buyers.
“We organised a few familiarisation trips in 2013 for the Indian travel fraternity and media and they were very successful. Within just six to seven months of our marketing efforts, we were able to get several MICE groups from India. No other tourism board has achieved initial results in such a short time. This is also a proof of how attractive Bulgaria is for Indian MICE visitors,” said.
Crediting the SATTE platform he added that Bulgaria wants to develop this as a continuous and sustainable effort so that we can create a good number of outbound tourists to Bulgaria. He also informed that several confirmed bookings, including those of groups, have been received at SATTE. Ionkov also expects to get some charters to Bulgaria this year.
Albeit small in numbers, the NTO has witnessed continuous growth in arrivals from India in the last few years. Bulgaria received 3,000 Indians in 2011, which grew to 4,000 in 2012 and 5,000 in 2013. The country receives seven million tourists annually that contribute 13 per cent to the Bulgarian GDP, making tourism one of its key economic activities.