Bulgarians Handling Israeli Groups Trained in Counter-Terror

Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister, Delyan Dobrev, is on a two-day visit to Israel. File photo

Bulgarian tour operators who work with Israeli tourists will undergo special training to detect terrorists, according to the country's Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister, Delyan Dobrev.

Dobrev is on a two-day visit to Israel in an attempt to soften the blow on the country's tourism and lessen the decline of Israeli visits in the aftermath of the terror attack at the airport of the resort city of Burgas, which killed five Israelis and the Bulgarian bus driver.

The Minister spoke Tuesday in a phone interview for the Bulgarian National Radio, BNR, saying the spots freed by the Israelis are immediately filled by groups from Russia, the Ukraine, and Belarus.

The bookings for winter vacations in Bulgaria on the Israeli market have come to a full stop for 10 days after the terror act, but have seen a restart due to the visit of Israeli Minister of Tourism Stas Mesizhnikov in Sofia, and his Bulgarian counterpart's current trip to Israel.

"We will never lose this market, the issue now is to not have a decline," Dobrev commented.

138 000 Israelis visited Bulgaria in 2011.

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