Bulgaria's medieval capital, Veliko Turnovo, was selected the cultural capital of the Balkan peninsula, Dnevnik daily reported on January 18 2020. The accolade was awarded to the town by the Balkan Hotel and Restaurant Organisation. The official awarding ceremony is scheduled to be held on April 4.

Last year, Veliko Turnovo was accepted as the only Bulgarian town in the internaitonal committee of historic towns and villages (CIVVIH), which has 70 members, including the likes of Paris, Rome, Prague, Vienna and Brussels.

Veliko Turnovo is the second Bulgarian town to win the award from the organisation. In 2009, Velingrad was selected as the "spa capital of the Balkans".

The decision is perhaps only a deserved reflection of the consistency and popularity of Veliko Turnovo, not only with Bulgarians but with foreign tourists as well.

In spite of the global economic downturn, about 271 000 tourists visited the Tsarevets castle in 2009, according to Sonya Petrova, head of the tourism department in the regional history museum in the town, Bulgarian news agency Focus said on January 8 2010.

The breakdown includes 84 000 primary and secondary school pupils and 34 000 university students, 110 000 Bulgarian adults and more than 43 000 foreigners. The number of visitors in 2009 was higher than in 2007, but eight per cent less than in 2008.

"This is by no means a drastic drop. It is apparent that the economic crisis has had an effect, but whereas some other historic sites are perhaps neglected, Tsarevets retains its pull," Petrova said.

With Veliko Turnovo becoming the cultural capital of the Balkans, the local tourism industry would be forgiven to expect a healthy business outlook for 2010 as well.