According to Eurostat data, the growth of domestic tourism in Bulgaria during the past year reached a record level of 5.6 percent, while the average growth for the EU was 3 percent, Minister of Tourism Nikolina Angelkova has announced. In order to stimulate domestic tourism the Tastes of Bulgaria campaign has been launched. It envisages presenting the culinary traditions of various regions in 9 different municipal cities. The Institute for Analysis and Assessment of Tourism has reported that during the Easter holidays most Bulgarians preferred to stay in the country and 25 hotels on the Black Sea coast had to open their doors earlier than planned to accommodate all the tourists. The relics of St. John the Baptist in Sozopol attract a great number of tourists, it was also reported. Along with the growth of rural tourism in many parts of the country the number of folk gatherings, culinary events, and events related to youth and extreme tourism, has been growing.