Bulgaria officially joins the Iter Vitis Route, a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe dedicated to wine, Tourism Minister Miroslav Borshosh said at a BTA-hosted event in Sofia on 20 November. Attending the event on the occasion of Bulgaria becoming part of the Iter Vitis Route were also Minister of Agriculture and Food Georgi Tahov, Iter Vitis European Federation President Emanuela Panke, Bulgarian Organization for Wine Tourism (BOWT) Chair Petya Minkova, Bulgarian Association of Wine Professionals representative Emil Koralov, and BTA Director General Kiril Valchev.
Minister Borshosh highlighted the main objectives and benefits of Bulgaria joining Iter Vitis, emphasizing that membership has been long-awaited and is key to ensuring international visibility and positioning for Bulgarian wine production and wine tourism. The expected effect is an increase in international and domestic tourism, as well as the development of regions in the country. According to the Minister, Bulgaria joining this Cultural Route of the Council of Europe is an example of sustainable development of Bulgarian wine tourism and preservation of wine heritage. The Minister stressed the need for teamwork in establishing Bulgaria as an extremely attractive destination for wine tourism.
Borshos noted that this success was the result of joint efforts between Emanuela Panke, to whom he expressed special gratitude, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the BOWT and the Bulgarian Association of Wine Professionals, local authorities, and the media, as well as the Bulgarian News Agency and its Director General. "This national media institution not only hosts everything related to the development of wine tourism, but has also created an exceptional catalogue, together with colleagues from the Ministry of Tourism, which we have distributed and which showcases the opportunities offered by Bulgarian wine tourism, highlighting each of the wineries and thus providing us with exceptionally strong media coverage and publicity for all our efforts," said the Minister.
Borshosh announced the launch of a major campaign for 2026 focusing on cultural tourism in Bulgaria, linked to the country's accession to Iter Vitis. He stressed that the goal is for Bulgaria to become a leading European destination in the field of tourism, cultural and wine tourism. The launch of the 2026 campaign will begin in November, as there is much work to be done in the field of cultural tourism, he noted. He also announced that a special conference would be held later on Thursday, led by Panke and the Ministry of Tourism, with the participation of winemakers and people involved in wine tourism, in order to get to the heart of the new membership and achieve the best in this context.
In early October, Bulgaria initiated the process of joining the Iter Vitis Route, a certified Cultural Route of the Council of Europe since 2009. This happened while Bulgaria was hosting the 9th UN Tourism Global Conference on Wine Tourism in Plovdiv (South Central Bulgaria). At the time, Minister of Tourism Borshosh held a working meeting with Iter Vitis European Federation President Panke to discuss the possibilities for Bulgaria's inclusion in the initiative and the different models of membership. The Federation brings together regions with established wine production and promotes viticulture and winemaking traditions in 23 countries.