The tourism ministry sees Eurovision 2027 in Burgas as a chance to apply its new model of a shared space for tourism data. Deputy minister Prof Mariela Modeva said this at a World Bank conference on the topic in Bulgaria.
"Our goal is to run tourism on real data, not on guesses," Modeva said.
A big international event needs reliable information on expected visitors, transport links and accommodation capacity, she said. "Data can help us make more accurate decisions and get the most out of the tourism potential of such events," she said in a ministry press release.
The shared space will collect information from different sources, to be used jointly. Each participant will keep control of the data it provides. Modeva believes that data from institutions, municipalities and businesses should be used to improve services.
Institutions and experts from Bulgaria and Austria discussed how the state and private business can exchange information, how to plan tourist services better and how to manage the flow of tourists.
The ministry has already set up a National Observatory for the Quality and Sustainability of the Tourism Product and works on the issue through it. Tourism minister Ilin Dimitrov announced it in September. The observatory will collect and analyse real data on the sector, and tourists' views will be gathered through QR codes at tourist sites.
At the end of October we reported that two young people from Burgas are building a free website, burgasinvision.com, for Eurovision guests. It is meant to help visitors find their way around city transport, restaurants and the main event venues around the contest.
When he announced the observatory, Dimitrov said its data would make it possible to track how the tourism product develops at national and regional level. It would also show where there is progress and where improvement is needed.