Premier: Founding Tourism and Sport Ministry Was Good Idea

Bratislava, 30 May (TASR) - Setting up the Tourism and Sport Ministry and pushing for an increase in the budget for both sport and tourism was a good idea, stated Premier Robert Fico (Smer-SD) following his meeting with Tourism and Sport Minister Rudolf Huliak (Independent) on Friday. "At the same time, we concurred that it was right to push for a significant increase in funding for the ministry since the very beginning of its existence in 2024. When it came to sport, the ministry obtained €100 million more, and it was €20 million extra as far as tourism was concerned. I spoke with the minister about the need to use the money available to the ministry now as efficiently as possible," said Fico, adding that the ministry's total budget at the moment is some €250 million. According to the premier, tourism has potential in Slovakia, and he sees an advantage in the fact that for the first time it has been concentrated into a central state-administration body. "Now it's up to the ministry whether it will manage to allocate the money available to it exactly where it should, so that tourism isn't just good representation of Slovakia but will also bring money into the state budget and create high-quality jobs," stated the premier. ko/df