This winter season, a 5% growth in the number of tourists is expected compared to the previous year, caretaker Minister of Tourism Evtim Miloshev said at the opening of the ski season in the Pamporovo resort. 

For the winter season, 197 charter flights are planned from Turkey, Prague, Bucharest and the Emirates. More than 38,000 people will fly to Bulgaria from the UK and Ireland. There will be 37 flights from Israel, Miloshev announced. He added that the growth is mainly a result of the sector's efforts for the sustainability of the tourism product. "The painful topic for winter ski resorts is VAT, because this price affects the price of ski passes and does not make us competitive," the minister added, giving as an example other countries where there is a reduced VAT rate.