British Ambassador to Bulgaria Jeremy Hill recently announced that the number of British tourists that visited Bulgaria in January 2005 has gone up by 60%, compared to January 2004.

Ambassador Hill, who was on a visit to the Smolyan region, underlined that the British tourists are interested in that region not only as a tourist destination but also as an investment location.

Earlier in the month it was reported that revenues of Bulgarian tourism recorded EUR 1.7b in 2004 with foreign tourism turnover hitting EUR 2.4 B. Investments in the tourism sector have exceeded EUR 500m over the last five years, the deputy minister announced, and approximately 90% of private investments are of Bulgarian origin.