GALLERY

Guests of the event are Algerian Minister of Tourism and Crafts – Abdelkader Benmessaoud, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina Mirko Sharovich, Egyptian Tourism Minister Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Secretary-General of the Organization for Black Sea Economic Cooperation Michael Christis, leading representatives of its tourism and related industries from different countries. Moderator of the ministerial panel „Tourism in Southeastern Europe and the Mediterranean“ was BBC journalist Rajan Datar. The event was attended by about 300 delegates – representatives of investment funds, tour operators and hotel chains based in more than 35 countries. The conference also included mayors of Black Sea municipalities, specialists from local institutions and the state administration. The main focus of the event is the prospects for investment in Central and Southeast Europe and the Mediterranean

The largest and most prestigious forum held in Bulgaria was attended by more than 800 delegates, representatives of 40 state delegations, over 20 ministers and numerous tourism leaders from around the world. Congress is organized jointly with the World Tourism Organization at the United Nations. Among the official guests of the event were the Princess of Jordan - NV Dana Firas, President of Petra National Trust, His Majesty King Simeon II, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization at the United Nations - Taleb Rifai, the world's most popular Egyptologist - Dr. Zahi Hawas, former Minister of Economy, Industry and Tourism Spain - Jose Manuel Soria, Greek Professor Pavlos Yerulanos, and representatives of the public administration from Jordan, Turkey, Malta, China, Greece, Romania, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Kenya, Moldova, Serbia, Zambia, Ghana, Zimbabwe and others. Among the Bulgarian participants were Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova, Deputy Mayor of Sofia Doncho Barbalov, as well as representatives of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and some of the most famous museums in the country.

The first of its kind annual awards were presented at an official ceremony with the help of the leading Adelina Radeva and George Lyubenov. At the ceremony attended the Minister of Tourism (Mrs. Nikolina Angelkova), Minister of Environment and Water (Mrs. Ivelina Vassileva), Minister of Youth and Sports (Mr. Krasen Kralev), over 300 official guests, ministers, mayors, heads of state enterprises and agencies, members of the parliament, representatives of the business and the non-governmental sector, as well as representatives of the media in the country. The main categories for the representatives of the organizations and the business were: "Tourist attraction / object", "Tourist event", "The Spirit of Bulgaria", "Specialized tourism", "Tourist destination", "Innovations". Four special prizes were given to the representatives of various Medias, as well as a prize for the best material from an Internet blog. Four municipal awards were also given from mayors of municipalities. The special prize "The Choice of the Bulgarians" was determined by the thousands voted in the specially created site for the event: www.tourismawards.bg, which defined the favorite place of the Bulgarians for rest, vacation or walk in 2016. Each of the winners received a statuette, the symbol of the beauty of Bulgaria - the Bulgarian rose, made for the ceremony by Dimitar Germanov. The official media partners of the initiative were the Bulgarian National Television, Bulgaria on Air, 24 Chasa (newspaper), Darik Radio, Radio Focus and the websites economic.bg and kmeta.bg.