• 26-03-2019 16:46
• Velizar Petrov

The Regional Development Council of Plovdiv District adopted the Strategy for Integrated and Sustainable Tourism of the Plovdiv District 2019-2025 in accordance with the INSiGHTS project

On March 26, 2019 in the building of the Regional Administration - Plovdiv was held the first meeting of the Regional Council for Development of the Plovdiv District for 2019.

The meeting was attended by mayors, chairmen and representatives of municipal councils of municipalities in Plovdiv region, representatives of trade unions and employers' organizations at regional level, executive director of the Agency for Regional Development with a business center for SMEs Mr. Velizar Petrov, as well as the chairman of the Management Board of Trakia Tourist Management Organization Mr. Lyubozar Fratev.  

Mr. Zdravko Dimitrov - Regional Governor of Plovdiv District and Chairman of the Council opened the meeting, welcoming all members and highlighted the importance of tourism in the expressed cooperation between all the stakeholders for the development of the area by bringing examples of foreign and own experience

Deputy Regional Governor and Deputy Chairperson of the Regional Development Council Mr. Petar Petrov presented the legal framework for the Council and the agenda, which was voted unanimously.

Under the first item of the agenda Mrs. Snezhana Alexandrova - Head of Coordination and European Integration Department at Regional Administration - Plovdiv, presented to the Council the draft project of the Integrated and Sustainable Tourism Strategy of Plovdiv District 2019-2025, established on the grounds of Art. 10, item 1 of the Law on Tourism and in connection with the implementation of project INSiGHTS "Integrated Strategies for slow, green and healthy tourism" under the Danube Transnational Cooperation Programme 2014-2020, implemented by the Regional development agency with BSC for SMEs - Plovdiv with the Associated strategic partner Regional Administration – Plovdiv. The main direction in the strategic document is the mobilization of the wealth of resources in the Plovdiv region for the development of different types of tourism all year round in a wider network and the exchange among all components of the tourist chain is a key factor for the regional development of tourism including all sectors of the economy, the protection of the environment and the increasing living standard of the population.

After the presentation of the Strategy Mr. Lyubozar Fratev presented the main commitments of "Trakia" Tourist Management Organization, noting the contribution of the strategic document for the creation of a regional tourist product and a marketing strategy for the development of tourism in the tourist region. The mayor of Parvomay municipality Mr. Angel Papazov, presented the good local practices with the Thracian Music Festival and the Holiday under the stars of Dragoyna peak, highlighting the huge economic and social effect for the community. The Chairman of the Municipal Council of Karlovo Mr. Teodor Shoylekov drew attention to the institutional support for the promotion of the legal protection of the unique Bulgarian product "Roza Damascena" which is cultivated on the territory of the municipality and goes beyond the tourism sphere and builds an image culture our country. Mrs. Penka Doykova, Mayor of the municipality of Hissarya, appealed for accessibility of online data entry in the tourist sector, which is at the start of the stage, noting the necessity of a strategy for advertising of the destinations.

 

The President of the Plovdiv Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mrs. Dobrina Prodanova, shared the experience and information about the project "The Taste of Bulgaria", which is being implemented in cooperation with Vietnam.

Mr. Velizar Petrov, Executive Director of the Regional Development Agency with a Business Support Centre for SMEs, expressed his satisfaction with the joint efforts with the Regional Administration of Plovdiv and announced that the active cooperation will continue with the purpose of implementing the next actions defined in this strategy. Mr. Aleksandar Tonkov supported the developed strategy which will be presented to the Council of Regional Development of South Central Region NUTS 2in the beginning of April.

After the presented opinions and discussions, the Integrated and Sustainable Tourism Strategy of Plovdiv Region 2019-2025 was put to the vote and was adopted unanimously by the Council members.