The Tourism Investors Union opened the first Bulgarian Tourist Information Center in Madrid today.

The Center was inaugurated by Sonya Koltuklieva, Chief Secretary of the Union as part of the Week of Europe celebrations held in the capital of Spain.

The Center's main office is located at 97 "Passeo de Habana" street and has two other offices in Madrid. The center's official website is listed as www.oficinadeturismobulgaro.org.

The Center will be the only place in Spain and Portugal where interested individuals will be able to receive tourist information about Bulgaria and make vacation and trip reservations.

The offers for the summer season 2008 are expected to be EUR 200 lower than the ones currently advertised by Spanish tour operators.

Offers for Bulgarians wishing to visit Spain and Portugal such as EUR 170 for a week vacation in Lisbon in a four star hotel, including travel expenses are also very attractive.

The Tourism Investors Union has the ambition to turn the Center into the most powerful tour operator for reservation from Spain and Portugal to Bulgaria and vice-versa.

The future plans include low cost flights from Spain to the airports in Ruse and Plovdiv as soon as the safeguard clause for the private Bulgarian airlines, imposed by the EC is lifted. The lifting of the clause is expected for October, after the results from the auditors' report are revealed.

The airline company Business Air, owned by the Tourism Investors Union's Chairman Vetko Arbadjiev is slated to execute flight for wealthy tourists from Spain and Portugal to Bulgaria.

The Center's inauguration is part of the massive advertising campaign of the Tourism Investors Union in Spain during the Week of Europe. The goal of the campaign is to showcase Bulgaria as an attractive tourist destination.