The Ministry of Tourism of Bulgaria reported a four-fold increase in the flow of tourists from Russia

In Bulgaria, in the first five months of 2022, compared to the same period last year, the number of Russian tourists increased by 3.9 times, Tourism Minister Hristo Prodanov said, Dnes reports.

“Despite the difficult international situation, the lack of direct flights, a total of 33,584 visits [to the country] by Russian tourists were taken into account in January-May 2022,” he said.

At the same time, the department noted that so far all planned advertising campaigns in RUSSIA regarding travel to Bulgaria have been canceled, while tourist visas are issued to Russians without restrictions. Russian tour operators, they pointed out in Sofia, did not refuse this direction and expressed their readiness to work on it, despite the need for travelers to make transfers during the flight, for example, in Istanbul or Yerevan.

The ministry added that Bulgaria is trying to promote its tourism services in Asian countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, as well as in Moldova and Belarus.

The Russian Ambassador allowed the severance of diplomatic relations with Bulgaria Since May 1 this year, the country has lifted all restrictive measures and has ceased to require PCR - tests, vaccination certificates and certificates of covid-19to cross its border, according to the website of the Bulgarian embassy in Russia. However, there is no direct flight connection with Bulgaria, since the EU, of which the country is a member, closed its skies to Russian airlines at the end of February this year.

There are also disagreements between Moscow and Sofia at the diplomatic level: at the end of June, Bulgaria decided to expel 70 Russian diplomats, accusing them of working for the Russian special services. After that, Russia suspended the work of three consulates in Bulgaria due to a lack of staff. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that Sophia's "trick" does not allow the Russian embassy to work normally.

Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova admitted that such a decision by Sofia could lead to a rupture of diplomatic relations between the countries. In the EU, this threat was considered "unfounded." The Russian Foreign Ministry has promised a response “on a bilateral basis,” but so far there has been no retaliatory action.