Sofia Municipality was Honored with a New Prestigious Award

On November 28, the Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association (BHRA) held its annual award ceremony for achievements in the field of of hotel and restaurant management. Sofia was named Most Sustainably Developed Tourist Destination in 2017. Branimir Milanov - Chairman of the Board of Directors of BHRA gave the award to the mayor of Sofia – Mrs Yordanka Fandakoa. The award is recognition of the achievements of Sofia over the last few years which include the construction of Sofia History Museum, the archaeological level under Saint Sophia Basilica, and Serdica-Sredets Historical and Archaeological Reserve. The three new information centers in the capital – Chitalnyata (The Reading Room), Largo and Bankya, and the conservation, restoration and exposure of the Western Gate of Serdica Archaeological Park and the Triangular Tower of Serdica are some of the most significant tourism projects. MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index ranked Sofia among the top 10 European destinations with the largest increase in the number of tourists for the period 2009-2016 – an increase of over 7%. In the first 10 months of 2017 Sofia was visited by nearly 1, 1 million tourists and thus the number of visitors increased by 11% compared to the same period of 2016. The overnight stays also increased by 13%. However, Sofia still has to overcome a lot of challenges including the upcoming Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU and being European Capital of Sport in 2018.