Today, 22 February, at 13:00 in the Compass Hall of the Bulgaria Hotel in Burgas will be held the first Regional Forum for Aviation and Tourism. The event is organized on the initiative of the association “Rafael – info, culture and tourism” – Burgas with the kind cooperation of the Municipality of Burgas and the partnership of the Bulgarian Aviation Industry Association (BAIA), the Ministry of Tourism and the concessionaire of the sea airports “Fraport Twin Star Airport Management” JSC.
The forum focuses on untapped opportunities for air connectivity and tourism with the implementation of new flights with a focus from/to Burgas Airport, says Valentin Atanasov, from Rafael-Info, Culture and Tourism. He will focus on the successful implementation, development and year-round retention of new destinations, through joint cooperation and communication between the airline sector, the tourism industry and tourist regions.
The idea of the forum is to unite the aviation and tourism sectors in order to fully recover the still weak air traffic and passenger flow faster. The programme is divided into four panels. In the first part, Todor Ivandjikov – President of BAIA, will introduce the audience to the current state of Bulgarian and world aviation, which has been most affected by the effect of the Covid crisis. The fact is that the aviation sector is trying to recover, but it is happening at an extremely slow pace. At the same time, BAIA representatives have managed to turn the pandemic into an opportunity to implement new programmes that have proved profitable.
The event will continue with a discussion of new options for air connectivity from Burgas and Varna airports. The Bulgarian airline GullivAir will present their views on the profitability of a regular Burgas-Belgrade service and will focus on flights in the Balkan region, the latter being a possible hub for attracting tourists.
In the third part of the program, Dr. Frank Kwante – CEO of Fraport Twin Star Airport Management JSC will introduce the attendees to the possible routes from the sea airports in the upcoming summer season 2022.
In the last panel, a discussion with tour operators will be held and the possibilities for turning the seasonal line Burgas – Vienna, operated by Lauda Air, into a regular one, will be discussed. New options for air connectivity and attracting tourists will be discussed.