Negotiations are underway with the Turkish shipping company IDO to open a regular sea route between Burgas and Istanbul. The initiator of the project is the Burgas Chamber of Commerce and Industry (chairman Todor Demirkov) together with the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and the tour operator Real Advance LLC, which cooperates with the owner of the vessel.
If the negotiations are successful, the first voyage may take place as early as the end of June 2025. Three voyages per week are planned.
However, the launch of the route is being held back by visa restrictions for Turkish citizens. The issue is being resolved at the level of an interdepartmental group created on the initiative of Deputy Minister of Tourism Pavlina Petrova.
Earlier, in October last year, a demonstration voyage was planned, but it was cancelled due to unfavorable weather conditions. Nevertheless, interest in the route was high - 350 tickets were sold in one week.
The idea of creating a sea line has been discussed since 2019, but implementation was postponed due to the pandemic. Now the project is back on the agenda and could give a powerful boost to tourism and strengthen ties between Bulgaria and Turkey.