The interest in rural tourism development projects in Bulgaria is very strong but now the investments are concentrated mainly on creating hotels, villa houses and wineries. This became clear at a meeting between Svetlana Boyanova, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food and Sixtus Laner, former chairman of the Agriculture Committee of the European Council and former director of the Austrian farmers’ union.  The opportunities for small settlements development by means of project funding under the Programme for rural regions development 2007-2013 were the main topic at the meeting.

 The population in the rural regions does not have any overall vision for turning the small municipalities into successful tourist destinations, Svetlana Boyanova told local media.
Sixtus Laner and Svetlana Boyanova commented on the effect of the Programme for rural regions development on the turning of small settlements into attractive places with the purpose to enhance tourism and to establish business and mobile centers. Boyanova, the Deputy Minister highlighted on the importance of keeping young people in the villages and explained that the first strategies of the local initiative groups had already been submitted.