Ministry of Tourism will pay over BGN 9.5 million to support tour operators

Bulgaria’s Ministry of Tourism will pay more than BGN 9.5 million to 32 tour operators under the state aid measure of EUR 35 per seat. The purpose of the subsidy is to help the tourism sector recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the measure, 139 applications for state aid worth BGN 19 350 450 have been received through the National Investment System. Two of the applications were withdrawn before consideration by the committee, 64 project proposals submitted by 32 tour operators were approved and another 73 were rejected.

The applications have been examined by a committee with the participation of external experts who have prepared assessments of compliance with the requirements of the State aid scheme notified by the European Commission.

The funds allocated following the decision of the Council of Ministers amount to BGN 9,571,588 and is within the limits of the budget of the measure previously approved by the European Commission dated 22 March 2022. The allocated funds are based on 139,825 verified foreign tourists who have used charter flights for organised tourist trips from June 1, 2021 to May 14,.2022.