The State Agency for Tourism (SAT) of Bulgaria, which is the first and only European country with two parks in the Protected Areas Network (PAN) Parks organisation, officially took part in the 10th conference of the PAN Foundation. The event was held in Bulgaria for the first time, at Razlog in the Rila Mountain. The topic of the conference, which was held from October 9 to 11, was “Days of European Wild Nature”.

The opening news conference took place at the SAT press centre on October 8. PAN Parks executive director Zoltan Kun, PAN Parks environment protection activities co-ordinator Vladovoi Vanchura, SAT deputy chairman Stanislav Novakov, and Deputy Mnister of Environment and Water Affairs Yordan Dardov, as well as representatives of Rila and Central Balkan parks attended the news conference. During the opening Kun said the most serious problem facing Bulgarian eco- and village-tourism was the large amount of tourism-related construction that was taking place.

More than 100 participants, from about 20 countries, took part in the conference. Attendees included representatives from nine European countries with parks, members of PAN Parks: Georgia, Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Finland and Bulgaria, as well as entrepreneurs, focused on tourism, from the park areas, tour operators and journalists.

The main purpose of this year’s conference was to support the preservation of wild nature through promoting local products and natural attractions, for example particular rock formations, specific to each region. The themes for discussion included creating and marketing tourism products, developing and financing projects and co-operation between the partners in the PAN Parks network. In addition, during the conference, a certificate for full membership into the PAN Parks network was officially presented to Rila National Park.

Bulgaria was chosen as the location for the start of events connected to the 10th anniversary of the PAN parks organisation because the country has exceptionally rich and well-preserved biodiversity. Also the organisation believes the Bulgarian Government had engaged well in the development of eco-tourism. The other reason Bulgaria was chosen to host the event was that it is the only country which has not one, but two parks in the PAN Parks network.

PAN Parks is a European non-governmental organisation created through an initiative of the WWF and supported by the Dutch tourism company Molecaten Group. The organisation protects the most valuable wild nature in Europe by creating a Parks Network, which develops sustainable tourism in co-operation with the local communities. The European Commission defined the organisation’s activity as “one of the best initiatives for the development and management of sustainable tourism in the Natura 2000 zones”.

The host of the event was Rila National Park administration, which is a regional structure of the Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water Affairs. Paradoxically, the opening day of the conference in Sofia, October 8, was also the date when construction of the new ski resort, Super Borovets, started in Rila Mountain (for more information see page 20).

The Central Balkan National Park is the other Bulgarian park that is member of the PAN Parks network.

On October 8 and 9, in the northern town of Lovech, the 10th Regional Tourism Exhibition was held. The Stara Planina regional tourism association chose and awarded the winners from the municipalities with the best quality services in regional tourism. Hotels, restaurants, museums and other attractions from the Gabrovo, Tryavna, Lovech, Troyan, Teteven, Apriltsi, Dryanovo, Kazanluk, Sevlievo and Gorna Oryahovitsa municipalities received this year’s Mark for Quality for tourism services. The purpose of the award is to recognise and guarantee of the high quality of service to customers, as well as to stimulate its development and encourage establishments to strive towards service perfection, Bulgarian language daily Pari reported on October 9.

Tryavna provides the best service to tourists, it has eight places with a Mark of Quality. Gabrovo and Troyan have six each, while 13 hotels are included in the prestigious list, as well as the park-hotels in Dryanovo and Troyan, guesthouses in Shipkovo, Ribaritsa, Tryavna and Valevtsi. The attractions that have been awarded are the Tryavna Woodcarving Art Museum, the architecture-ethnographic village Etura, the House of Humour and Satire in Gabrovo and the historical museums in Teteven, Lovech and Gorna Oryahovitsa.

During the exhibition the tourist facilities in Lovech and Letnitsa municipalities were presented and also the attractions at Troyan and Sevlievo. Those that generated the most attention were the plum rakiya (Bulgarian brandy) and the pumpkin celebrations, which take place annually in these areas.

There were more than 60 participants at the exhibition.

SAT also presented its projects for the different tourism regions in Bulgaria, including the priority and additional tourist products for each relevant region.