Bulgaria will add staff at its consulates in Turkey and bring in a new electronic appointment system, so Turkish tourists can get visas more easily, tourism minister Ilin Dimitrov said after talks with Turkey's culture and tourism minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy. The Ministry of Tourism press office reported this.

The two ministers met in London at the World Travel Market (WTM) 2026 trade fair.

More staff will process more applications, and visa applicants will wait less. The appointment system has yet to be tested. The idea is that people will know in advance when and how they will be seen at the consulate.

"When someone wants to spend a weekend or a holiday in Bulgaria, getting a visa should not be the reason they pick another destination," Dimitrov said. He said the changes are a real reform on a problem the tourism industry has raised for years.

The Ministry of Tourism, the Foreign Ministry and other bodies are preparing the changes together. Dimitrov thanked prime minister Rumen Radev and foreign minister Velislava Petrova for their commitment on the issue.

Between January and August 2026, nearly 192,000 Turkish tourists registered at places to stay in Bulgaria. Turkish citizens made about 746,000 visits to the country in total.

The two ministers also spoke about more tourism exchange between their countries. They plan joint products and routes that draw on history, culture and food traditions. They also discussed training staff for the tourism sector.

Dimitrov invited Turkish universities to join the Bulgarian Association of Higher Education Institutions that train tourism staff. The aim is to turn it into an international education network, first with universities from the Balkans and later from Europe.

The Association is expected to encourage exchanges of students and lecturers, share knowledge and good practice, and link training with the tourism business.

Earlier the same day, Dimitrov also met Greek tourism minister Olga Kefalogianni. They discussed a new joint tourism cooperation plan for 2027–2029 and possible shared advertising campaigns in distant markets, including under programmes and projects of the European Travel Commission.