This was reported by the interim Minister of Tourism of Bulgaria, Ilin Dimitrov. Dimitrov explained that the cost of the visa was 80 euros, but was reduced to 35 euros for Russians, but not for long.
“This discount will disappear. It will not work to ban the entry of Russians, but the visa for them will become more expensive. This is an EU decision with which we do not completely agree, but as members of the union we will have to comply with it,” he added.
More than 60,000 Russians have visited Bulgaria since the start of the year, despite the lack of direct flights halted following Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
“Near the sea, the Russians have about 100,000 properties on our Black Sea coast. They enter through Turkey, spend heavily to get to Bulgaria, but still come,” Dimitrov said.
Dimitrov also explained that about 20,000 Ukrainian refugees are currently housed in Bulgarian hotels, and by the end of October an attempt will be made to extend the government’s housing program for housing Ukrainian refugees.
He stated that his main task is to pay hoteliers. They were initially paid from the state budget before all costs were reimbursed by EU funds.
