The President of the National Assembly, Tsetska Tsacheva, and Minister Nikolina Angelkova launched the campaign Wonders of Bulgaria 2016

11 April 2016

The European Commission allocates EUR 500 000 for projects for raising the quality of the staff in tourism in the EU. The Ministry of Tourism is already preparing a project to apply with and I hope that more organisations from the tourist sector will do this, the Minister for Tourism, Nikolina Angelkova, said during the public discussion in the Regional Historical Museum in Vratsa, organised within the sixth ‘Wonders of Bulgaria’ campaign of the Standart newspaper. The meeting, entitled ‘The Wonders of Vratsa and the North-West – New Opportunities for Development of Cultural and Historical Tourism and the Economy in the Region’, was also joined by the President of the National Assembly, Tsetska Tsacheva, the Regional Governor of Vratsa, Malina Nikolova, the adviser to the Minister for Culture, Prof. Nikolay Ovcharov, the Mayor of the Town, Kalin Kamenov, mayors of other populated places in the region, experts, etc.

‘The North-Western Region has great potential for tourism and the proximity of the Danube River makes it an even more attractive destination’, Nikolina Angelkova emphasised. According to data of the National Statistical Institute, in 2015 this part of the country was visited by over 280 thousand tourists, of whom 240 thousand were Bulgarians. ‘A lot of tourists visit the region on cruise ships on the Danube and we should do our best to keep them longer here’, Minister Angelkova pointed out. According to her, last year we welcomed the arrival of 183 cruise ships with over 24 000 guests and forecasts for 2016 are promising, too. ‘It is very important to offer the tourists more experiences. To be able to reach national-level unanimity on which the main attractions are we have developed eight cultural-historical destinations, one of which comprises the region and bears the name ‘The Wealth of the North-West’, Nikolina Angelkova added. The destination includes the towns of Vratsa, Vidin, Belogradchik, Chiprovtsi, Berkovitsa, Varshets, Mezdra, Pleven, as well as some of the most emblematic sites here.

‘Speaking about the Danube, I would like to note the great opportunities we can benefit from in the framework of the Danube Strategy’, the Minister for Tourism said. Bulgaria, together with Romania, is a co-coordinator under Priority Axis 3 of the Strategy – tourism and culture – and the Ministry works actively to turn our country into a generator of initiatives within its framework. The coordination centre for projects in tourism for all the 14 states in the Danube Region will start operating soon in Ruse.

Minister Angelkova pointed out that in regard to the European funding in the sector, the Ministry is a beneficiary only under the Operational Programme Innovation and Competitiveness and makes efforts to seek additional possibilities to apply for investment on a competitive basis with the other EU member-states. ‘We have won a project under the COSME Programme to promote Bulgarian EDEN destinations, Vratsa being one of them’, she announced. The funding amounts to EUR 70 thousand and in the coming months a professional tour is to be organised in the region and promotional videos about the destinations are to be made. The project implementation will contribute to the more complete presentation of Bulgaria as a destination for ecological, cultural, spa and other kinds of specialised tourism, but also to the overcoming of the territorial and seasonal concentration of tourist flows, as well as to the increase of employment in the region.

This year, the emphasis of the Wonders of Bulgaria campaign is on the role of museums as an instrument of popularising Bulgaria beyond its borders. The Standart newspaper has proposed that the Rogozen Treasure, discovered in this part of the country, become an ambassador of Bulgaria to the world. This initiative includes the organisation of an exhibition entitled ‘The Wonders of the North-West’ in a European Commission hall in Brussels in 2016, dedicated to the Unification Day, 6th September. Preliminary discussions have already been conducted with the Vice-President of the European Commission, Kristalina Georgieva, with Minister Rashidov, with the Mayor of Vratsa and historians. The wonders will promote Bulgaria’s cultural and historical heritage to Europe, as well as its enormous possibilities as a year-round tourist destination.

 

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