The potential for Bulgaria’s tourism industry to become competitive lies in alternative forms and in offering exclusive experiences to foreign holidaymakers.

In this way, the country could compete with Greece and Turkey, and even Italy and Spain, Professor Yulia Dilova, head of the advertising agency Bria, told Time for Travel.

Dilova, who also teaches management at several Bulgarian universities, has spent a lot of time in the US and has first-hand experience of how good ideas are turned into businesses and are made to profit.

Bulgaria currently cannot compete against its neighbours, Greece and Turkey, she says. First, the summer season in Bulgaria is shorter, and second, excessive construction along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast is driving away foreign tourists.

She says that Bulgaria is compromising its winter skiing resorts, because of the large construction projects that are destroying much of the country’s natural beauty.

Bulgaria now needs to emphasise a number of things, starting with the country’s rich historical heritage.

“Our lands are filled with historical and architectural artefacts and in this fields there are only two other countries in Europe - Italy and Greece - that can offer more. However, we will not be able to ‘serve’ our historical and architectural riches to foreigners before we make them more popular and make access to them easier,” Dilova said.

In addition to building the proper infrastructure to enable easy access to the artefacts of historical and architectural value, the Bulgarian state and local businesses also have to take care to improve a host of other things, including improving the roads and cleaning the area around them.

Dilova considers merchandise a very important part of the popularisation of Bulgaria’s historical past.

“What I fear is that, currently, the market offers quite limited and mostly ugly souvenirs that could hardly look nice to the foreigners who, for example, would like to have a small replica or a good-looking picture of the Madara Horseman, or of the unique Old Plovdiv houses. And there are so many such beauties even in some of the smallest and most distant villages,” she said.

Like many others, Dilova strongly believes that the most important thing about offering any good or service is its packaging, which fully applies to such a customer-sensible industry like tourism.

Unique folklore tradition that, if properly served, can be a source of huge revenue,” she said.

“The future of Bulgaria is not in offering five-star hotel jungles but in creating different forms of elite tourism that will draw the richest tourists and will help our country flourish,” said Dilova.