The Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Bulgaria was signed at the Ministry of Environment and Water (MOEW). The document was signed today by the Minister of Environment and Water Julian Popov, the Deputy Minister of Tourism Irena Georgieva, the Chairman of the Bulgarian Tourist Chamber Georgi Nikolov, the Chairman of the Board of the Bulgarian Association of Tourism Experts Dimcho Todorov, Desislava Alexova as representative of the Association of Parks in Bulgaria, the Director of the Institute for Analysis and Forecasting of the Information Environment in Tourism Rumen Draganov, and the Director of the BlueLink Citizen Action Network Pavel Antonov.

"11 years ago, as a caretaker minister, I started an initiative which we are now implementing. It is not just about hotels and the tourism business, it is also about interaction with nature. The meaning behind developing a Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Bulgaria is to unite the organizations involved in tourism around common principles of behavior. This will facilitate the debate on communication with nature in order to avoid conflicts related to investment intentions," said Environment and Water Minister Julian Popov.

The Charter has the character of a code of ethics and after its adoption today remains open for support by all stakeholders - local authorities, institutions, the business, and civil society representatives. The aim is to turn it into a green code of ethics for all those working for the development of sustainable tourism in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Chamber of Tourism and the BlueLink Civic Action Network have committed to maintain and update the list of stakeholders who have signed the Charter.

"I’d like to express gratitude to the Ministry of Environment and Water for jointly supporting the very important cause of promoting sustainable tourism. I believe that the Charter will be supported by many businesses and civil society organizations and that the development of the process will continue according to the principles of the document," said Deputy Minister Irena Georgieva. Minister Popov extended a special invitation to the municipalities in Bulgaria to join the Charter for Sustainable Tourism and highlighted that they are an extremely important partner in this cause.

The initial initiative for the Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Bulgaria dates back to 2013, when its first version was developed within the Public Council under the Minister of Environment and Water. The current text was drafted between August 2023 and March 2024 with the participation of MPs, experts from the Ministry of Environment and Water, the Ministry of Tourism, as well as representatives of the Bulgarian Tourist Union, the Bulgarian Association for Alternative Tourism, the Institute for Analysis and Forecasting of the Information Environment in Tourism, the Association of Parks, Odyssey Inn and the BlueLink Foundation. In February 2024, the listed parties as well as the National Tourism Board and the Bulgarian Tourist Chamber discussed the text of the document at a round table held jointly by the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Tourism.

The Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Bulgaria is open for accession by public and private institutions, local authorities, businesses and non-profit organizations that commit to cooperate for its effective implementation.

Inclusion as a signatory to the Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Bulgaria takes place through an application for accession in which a representative of the relevant stakeholder declares in writing their support for the Charter and commits to implement and respect its principles. The application should be sent by the legal representative of the relevant stakeholder to harta.tourism@moew.government.bg