SOFIA, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- The 36th edition of the Holiday & SPA Expo kicked off here on Thursday, bringing together over 380 exhibitors from 25 countries and regions.

Greece, Turkey, Serbia, North Macedonia, Cuba, Romania, Vietnam, Iran and India are among the participants of the international tourist fair, along with more than 40 Bulgarian municipalities.

In addition to the abundance of information on natural landmarks and travel offers, the three-day event also features dozens of discussions, presentations, programs, lectures and tastings.

The exhibition, regarded as the most prestigious tourism forum in Bulgaria, is a great opportunity to show the enormous potential of Bulgarian tourism, said the country's Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova at the opening ceremony.

It is noteworthy that there is a constant increase in the number of participants in the exhibition, and this event has become very important for the promotion of inbound tourism, Angelkova said.

Last year, more than 9.2 million foreign tourists visited Bulgaria, a 4.4 percent increase year-on-year. Accommodated domestic tourists numbered 3.7 million, up 2.3 percent on an annual basis, Angelkova said.