Cultural Realms - Rossitza Ohridska-Olson's blog about the business of cultural tourism

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Published an idea for Insitute of New Media and Marketing for Culture

This is the latest of my policy making ideas. The reason – to avoid mentioning the word “Marketing” in the law for cultural heritage. Currently the managing staff in the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture is from the socialist party and making money from culture for them is a heresy.  Please enjoy and suggest your ideas. Unfortunately, the text is only in Bulgarian.

The new institute will serve as key provider of information and help to the cultural tourism in Bulgaria.

Photo: Sveshtary Tomb - UNESCO monument of world cultural heritage. Photo illegally taken by me, because of the absurd policy of the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture to regulate picture taking. Wonder why nobody have heard of it?

Claiming History - I

There is an undeclared war going on between Geogria (the country) and Russia regarding South Ossetia. Trying to explain myself the conflict origins and decide who is right and who is wrong (see my post on Tower of Babel blog), I stumbled upon the official website of the Department of Tourism and Resorts in Georgia. It starts with “ Georgia. Europe started here.” In the frame of today’s killings between the two countries to control the Caucuses’ pass from North to South, this claim wasn’t the biggest crime.

But in the context of stealing everybody’s else history, at least it is not the best approach, if Georgia wants to enter in the EU and to be the “good guys” in the war against Russia, Ossetia and Abhazia. Besides that, is totally untrue. Europe starts from East to West in the Ural Mountains. In history, it started with Crete, Greece, Thrace and Macedonia. So how Georgia is the starting point of Europe is unclear.

And the biggest stupidity is that Georgia doesn’t need this exaggerated claim. From the McGovern book “Origins and Ancient History of Wine”  and his research, is clear that the other claim, “Georgia is unquestionably the birthplace of wine.” is totally correct. The ancient Colchis and Iberia in the antiquity, now the country is home of great nature (25% of the territory are nature parks and protected territories), great living culture (music, crafts, architecture) and of course, of incredible hospitality (current President and his generals excluded).

So, why Georgia, a place with so many tourist attractions and appeal, needs historically incorrect and exaggerated country branding? Read more...

Published my position on Cultural Heritage Law Project

Yesterday I published my position on the new Cultural Heritage Law project. In this statement (in Bulgarian only) I argue that the new law is not complete, because it lacks completely marketing strategy and policy regarding the cultural heritage, that the digitalization and the worldwide access to digital materials is not provided by the law (even prohibited in some of the instances) and that as proposed, the law will not serve the cultural tourism business. In short – the law is written as if it were a 19-century draft of wishes for preservation of the cultural heritage of a country, which is the 3rd in Europe by the number of its monuments of culture and museum artifacts. The office of the President of Republic Bulgaria sent me a immediately their gratitude for my concern and qualified my opinion as “very competent”.