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Bulgaria expects hosting 650,000 Russian tourists this year -- ambassador

He noted a growth of the inflow of Russian tourists

MOSCOW, July 13 (Itar-Tass) — Bulgaria's authorities expect their country to host 650,000 Russian tourists this year, ambassador to Russia Boiko Kotsev told a news conference.

He noted a growth of the inflow of Russian tourists.

"If we take the first six months of 2012, the number of tourists from Russia stood at 450,000, which is 30% more than in the same period of 2011," Kotsev said. "As for the yearned figures, we expect 650,000 tourists."

He indicated that the Bulgarian consulate officials issue visas to Russian citizens within two to four days upon the submission of applications and there are sixteen Bulgarian visa processing centers across Russia at the moment.

Kotsev recalled that the individuals having effective Schengen area visas in their passports do not need to obtain Bulgarian visas.

"Also, we issue twelve-months-long multiple entry visas to the applicants who visited Bulgaria in the previous year," he said.

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