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Bulgaria Plans UAE Drive to Woo Investors, Tourists

DUBAI - Bulgaria plans to launch a campaign to boost two-way investment and tourist traffic with the UAE, according to a top official at the country’s consulate general in Dubai.

Zdravelin Georgiev, Consul General of Bulgaria in Dubai, said the campaign, to be launched within weeks, was aimed at creating greater awareness in the UAE and the Gulf about the Central European country’s “immense tourism and investment prospects.”

“The investment climate in Bulgaria remains good despite the current global meltdown. One of our goals is to promote two-way investment and tourist traffic with the Gulf region,” Georgiev told Khaleej Times.

He said by the middle of this year, Bulgarian Airlines would launch direct flights between Sofia and Dubai as part of the government’s effort to woo tourists and businessmen to the country.

Georgiev said tourist flow from the Gulf region to Bulgaria remained low, partly because there were no direct flights. Last year, the Bulgarian Consulate General issued 2,000 visit visas in the UAE. “This is a very small number given the myriad tourist attractions of a country of 7.5 million people,” he said.

In an attempt to lure tourists and boost cargo transport as the global economic downturn bites, Bulgaria launched the upgrade of the airport of its second biggest city of 
Plovdiv recently.

In June 2007, Bulgaria and the UAE signed a treaty for the avoidance of double taxation and restriction of income and capital tax evasion. There are more than 7,000 Bulgarians living the UAE, Georgiev said. Bulgarian mission is observing the country’s 131st national day today.

According to projections, Bulgaria expects a growth of four per cent, which is considerably lower than that of 2008, when the 30 billion euro economy grew at 6.8 per cent. By the end of January Bulgaria’s government unveiled a plan for counteracting the global crisis, which envisaged support for Bulgarian companies, preservation of macroeconomic and financial stability and sustaining good business climate.

The International Monetary Fund, in its latest forecast said the Bulgarian economy had strong positions, which gave the country the opportunity to withstand the challenges ensuing from the global crunch. However, the IMF said as a result of the global economic slowdown there would be a drop in foreign demand for Bulgarian goods and services, and as well as a fall foreign direct investments to the country.


issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com