Festive Season at Hyatt Regency Sofia and Hyatt Regency Pravets

Hyatt Regency are presenting to you their Christmas and New Year’s Eve offers for a special and unforgettable celebration.

Hyatt Regency Sofia Christmas Parties 2025

Hyatt Regency Sofia Christmas Brunch

Hyatt Regency Pravets Resort Warm Family Christmas

Hyatt Regency Pravets Resort NYE Monovets Hall

Hyatt Regency Pravets Resort NYE Pravets Ballroom

On 5 November we celebrated Guy Fawkes Night at the British Embassy’s Underground Club, together with BBCC member – the Automotive Cluster.

Guests were greeted by Automotive Cluster Director – Lubomir Stanislavov, BBCC Chair – Miroslava Kostadinova, and DBT Regional Director, Europe Central & Country Director Bulgaria – Tim Buisseret.

Speacial thanks to all who came, and we’ll see you next time!

What an inspiring morning at the British Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce’s seminar “AI: In Action – From Strategy to Impact”, held on 7 November at Megapark, Sofia. The session brought together business leaders, innovators and experts to explore how artificial intelligence is no longer just a buzz-word but a real force reshaping strategy, operations and decision-making.

A few highlights:

• Petar Petrov (CEO, Soul&Silicon) kicked things off with a compelling talk on “AI is Everything” — covering the speed of AI’s development, what’s changing in the labour market, concrete implementation steps, and corporate risks.
• Richard Clegg (Partner, Wolf Theiss Bulgaria) followed with a deep dive into “Implementing AI & Data Projects” — exploring legal liability, contracts, compliance and real-world case examples.
• The panel discussion featuring Petar, Richard and Stela Zlatkova (Commercial Director, Lion’s Head) generated rich discussion on how companies can stay ahead of innovation, practical strategies for adoption and navigating risk vs reward.

Why this matters: The conversation went beyond theory — we heard real-world insights into how AI is being integrated across business functions, what to watch out for, and how leaders can take action now. For CEOs, HR, operations and legal leaders alike, the message was clear: the time to move from strategy to impact is now.

A few “take-aways” worth sharing:

• AI is not just a tech project — it needs to be embedded in business strategy, culture and operations.
• Legal, regulatory and ethical dimensions are just as important as the technical ones if AI initiatives are to succeed.
• People still matter: AI may automate or augment many processes, but human oversight, quality control and alignment remain critical.
• Networking & shared learning matter — hearing from peers and practitioners makes a difference.

Thanks to the Lion’s Head and Wolf Theiss for organising a valuable morning of insight and connection, and to our lovely host Megapark.

In 2024 Trakia University funded three PhD students with innovative ideas to attend Leeds Digital Festival 2024. Their presence created a strong and lasting impression on Amy Morgan, senior representative at Barclays Eagle Labs. At that same event, Paul Johnson, Senior Partner at Mills & Reeve LLP, was introduced to Bulgaria for the first time – an early connection that later proved valuable.

Impressed by the Trakia students, Amy Morgan became a key advocate for Bulgarian innovation. She introduced the Chamber and its network to:

• David Summerbell, who later hosted the mission’s follow-up event and introduced Claire Clark.
• Charlotte Scott, venture-capital deal scout for eight northern VCs, who subsequently delivered an online session for Trakia University – confirming the quality of the Bulgarian academic and innovation base.
• Charlotte Scott’s engagement then brought Helen Gibson MBE into the circle, extending visibility across the UK’s female-founder ecosystem.

The Chamber’s later invitation to FinTech North stemmed partly from Bob Spence’s wider UK network, but the open door existed because Barclays Eagle Lab was already involved and had validated the relationship. The free admission and warm reception from FinTech North organisers reflected this endorsement. The next-day event hosted by David Summerbell further deepened the connection between UK and Bulgarian innovators. Fireside-chat sessions featuring Charlotte Scott created further links into the venture-capital community. Through these steps, Mills & Reeve’s earlier contact with the Trakia students evolved into continuing collaboration opportunities.

Every stage of this development can be traced back to the original Trakia University PhD team. Amy Morgan’s early impression provided the credibility needed for introductions to take place. Subsequent connections only existed because there were dots to join – created by the students’ performance and Trakia’s decision to back them. The Chamber’s role was to connect those dots and ensure that each introduction translated into visible outcomes.

The British Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce was proud to support Bulgaria’s presence at World Travel Market 2025 in London!

In partnership with the Ministry of Tourism of Bulgaria, our Members and Partners Coordinator, Isabel Videva, assisted Bulgarian exhibitors in showcasing the country’s rich and diverse tourism potential to global industry leaders and professionals.

This collaboration represented an important opportunity to enhance Bulgaria’s international visibility, build new business connections, and highlight the wide variety of experiences our nation offers — from cultural heritage and eco-tourism to wellness, adventure, and gastronomy.

We were delighted to see such strong interest in Bulgaria as a travel destination and look forward to continuing to promote our country on the global tourism stage!

Miroslava Kostadinova commented that the trade exchange between the UK and Bulgaria by the second quarter of 2025 amounts to 2.9 billion British pounds, and it will become more active after 2022. Bulgaria imports services such as tourism, finance and business services from London, and the United Kingdom is among the country’s 20 largest trading partners.

Watch the full interview here.

On 6 November, British Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Ladies Forum, in the spirit of mutual respect, cooperation, and commitment to sustainable development, expressed their joint will to unite efforts for promoting the role of women in society, supporting female entrepreneurship, and fostering leadership.

Miroslava Kostadinova and Diana Miteva signed a memorandum binding the two organizations to support each other’s initiatives and develop new joint ones.

Objectives of the partnership:

• To promote the values of equality and active civic participation.
• To promote female entrepreneurship through joint initiatives and programs.
• To support the leadership potential of women in business and society.
• To create opportunities for exchange of knowledge, experience, and best practices between the two organizations and their members.
• To develop educational, training, and mentoring initiatives aimed at professional development of women.

International Trade Week is an opportunity to take stock, and reflect, on 2025 so far. It’s been quite a year – with tariffs, supply chains and international trade never far from the headlines.  

We’ve seen dramatic changes to US policy, implementing the highest average tariffs since 1934. The result has been lower than forecast economic output across Europe, the Americas and Asia.  

Despite all that global trade has continued to grow in 2025. The latest World Trade Organisation forecast for global goods expects 2.4% growth this year, as supply chains adapted to get ahead of new tariff waves. However, the WTO expects goods trade to cool to 0.5% growth next year. 

During this International Trade Week we celebrate the success stories of UK trade and consider what is needed to drive it to the next level.  

Services are the biggest success story. The WTO forecasts 4.6% growth in services trade this year and 4.4% in 2026 – solid, but noticeably lower than the 6.8% year on year growth in 2024. Travel, transport, computing (cloud/AI), and business advisory services are  showing the highest growth. Meanwhile there’s lots of focus on the emerging sectors in global trade, such as medical and education services. 

The UK services exports story is a powerful one, currently estimated to be worth £542bn per year. That’s more than double the picture 10 years ago. At the current rate of expansion UK services exports alone could hit £1trn per annum before 2035. 

The current goods exports picture for the UK is more challenging. However, there is well grounded optimism about our prospects in green hydrogen, climate technologies, energy and fuels, pharmaceuticals/medical devices, automotives, and food and drink. 

Now is the moment to deepen our trading relationships in the Americas, Europe, and Indo-Pacific. The clear message from our recent trade surveys is – UK businesses want to go global.  With the US, our priorities must be ensuring tariffs remain as low as possible, alongside rolling out of the investment plans within the Technology Prosperity Deal with Canada, Mexico, Brazil and other partners the UK needs to be looking to secure deals on energy, supply chains and digital trade.   

With our partners in Europe, there’s an urgent need to deliver the promised tangible benefits and lower barriers with the EU, alongside upgraded agreements with Switzerland and Türkiye. We should deepen our trading deal with the 11 other CPTPP states to include new supply chain and business mobility chapters. Finally, a deal with the six Gulf Co-operation Council states could be on the horizon very soon. The right Gulf deal will open more opportunities for UK sectors including food and drink, pharmaceuticals, energy, climate technology and defence.   

The UK’s new Trade Strategy, launched by the Prime Minister at the BCC’s Global Annual Conference in June, is a very welcome blueprint for creating new growth opportunities. Business and Government have a shared vision – lower tariffs and wider market access. The recent agreement with India is a prime example.  It’s crucial now that business is involved as a full delivery partner so that the UK seizes opportunities to the full. 

Trade is – and always should be – at the heart of the UK economy. That’s why it’s at the heart of our submission to the Chancellor for the Budget later this month.  We have 3 key trade asks. Firstly, delivery. Realising the economic growth potential of trade is only possible through with effective delivery partnerships with business.  The Chamber Network stands ready to help with trade accelerators, boosting performance among businesses preparing to scale their export.   

Secondly, we need Government to update our customs rulebook and border processes to make the best use of technology and cut holding times for goods at ports. 

And finally, we’re calling on ministers to make sure we get policy on carbon border adjustment mechanisms right. In practice, that means keeping UK exports competitive through a deal on Emissions Trade Linkage with the EU, while working with business on the design of the new UK CBAM too.  

British business has the ambition, the drive, and world-leading products to make net trade a huge driver of new economic growth in the coming years. This week we take stock, celebrate the many UK exporting success stories, and highlight the bold next steps designed to give our country an even brighter trading future. 

Source: British Chambers of Commerce

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Bulgaria presents their Christmas gits with a cause. Check out their offers in the attachment below.

This festive season, Hilton Sofia invites you to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year in true Hilton style – with sparkle, flavour, and unforgettable moments.

From the elegant St. Nicholas Dinner and family-favourite Christmas Brunches to the festive cocktail spirit at Regale Bar & Terrace and the glamorous La Dolce Vita New Year’s Eve Gala, every event is crafted to make December truly magical.

Discover the full festive programme here:
Festive Season Brochure – English

For reservations and inquiries:
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