Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova and Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov agreed to simplify tourist visa procedures for citizens of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Georgia.

The measure is aimed at boosting visitor numbers from traditional markets such as Russia and Ukraine, according to the press office of Bulgaria’s Tourism Ministry.

It is also part of a campaign aimed at countering the downward tend in early bookings from these countries for the 2015 summer season.

The new regime envisages the issuance of short-term double-entry and multiple-entry visas for organized trips.

This type of visa has a validity period of up to one year and is available to citizens who have already used Bulgarian visas.

Owners of real estate from these countries will also have the opportunity to take advantage of the simplification of visa requirements. People in this category who have not visited Bulgaria before will be entitled to short-term double-entry or multiple-entry visas for purposes of private visits with a validity period of up to one year, while those who have used Bulgarian visas before will be entitled to visas with a validity period of up to 3 years.

Minors from these countries will also be able to take advantage of the simplified visa requirements. If they wish to visit Bulgaria for the purpose of a tourist trip or an organized youth camp, they will be issued short-term multiple-entry visas with a validity period of up to 5 years.

Double-entry and multiple-entry visas with a validity period of up to one year will also be issued to people with disabilities.

The validity period of all of these visas will match the validity period of the travel documents of the visitors.

Bulgaria adopted similar measures to boost the number of Turkish visitors in the winter season.