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

Should the Bulgarian Private Business Invest in Cultural Tourism?

Notes from the Second Congress of Investors in the Tourism

The Second Congress of Investors in the Tourism was held in Hilton, Sofia on September 26, 2008 - just before the Day of the Tourism celebrated by the UNWTO. My presence there was only informative – to see what are the directions that will take both investors and governing bodies in the tourism.

The wishes of the Congress were clear – to work towards changing the product of the Bulgarian tourism. To create a new, appealing travel products, outside of the recreational ones (sea, sun, ski), in spite their 20% growth forecasted for this year.

As per Ms. Krushkova, the President of the Bulgarian Agency for Tourism, the highlights of this new product should be on cultural tourism – in its broad sense: creating new emotions and experiencing the pleasure of life: wine, spa, wellness, events and small towns/rural tourism.

The President of the Republic, Mr. Georgi Purvanov and the entire panel of Mr. Roumen Draganov from the Institute for Research in the Tourism have highlighted the difficulties to create a historic heritage cultural tourism – lack legislation defining the ownership of cultural heritage sites and monuments leading to lack of interest in creating tourist infrastructure around them. 

Other problems that exist since the time I was student in the Sofia University, such as lack of trained personnel in hotels, tour operators, restaurants, etc., bad infrastructure outside the super resorts, and the total disregard of the ecology, were highlighted again, without any clear solution.

So, when all of private investors and the representative bodies of the government appealed for the creation of new tourism strategy for the country and a new image of Bulgaria as tourist destination, I was asking myself – should we really invest time and money on positioning planning and new branding, when, at this point, we don’t have the ability to create the product we wish to advertise?

And the answer is yes, we should. We should invest first in a proper legislation regarding the ownership and marketing of the cultural heritage (historic and living ones) of Bulgaria (See my position on the Cultural Heritage law – in Bulgarian only). Then, we should invest in creating a workforce, from the bottom to the top level, able to create and manage alternative types of tourism. Only then a new strategy for tourism development can work, and a new branding can be implemented. And finally, we should create a legislative framework to finance the tourism advertising globally, and target emerging markets smartly, using the latest trends in promotion.

In the meantime, we only can create, manage, service and advertise on small scale niche products (special interests, small spa and wellness programs, wine tours, events, festivals), mainly through Internet and the social networks, which are perfect for this type of tourism.

Cultural Tourism – What’s next?

An article in the Travel Mole (“Sofia – the next Barcelona? “) and a discussion tread in TriNet (a professional network for the scientists in the tourism business) about the 2009 forecast for tourism, made me think about what is next in the cultural tourism. And in spite the fact that I don’t see Sofia to be the next Barcelona (mostly Varna will be the next Barcelona, if we are speaking about similar characteristics), I strongly believe that the geographies of the cultural tourism are changing and the future is bright and optimistic. Read more why I think so…

The Thracian Civilization Orphaned Again

Dr. Georgi Kitov – In Memoriam

You can find the Bulgarian translation here. Тази статия на български.

He was the king of the Bulgarian archaeology and a slave of it. Trying to save the Thracian Civilization heritage, almost alone against all treasure hunters, against the bureaucracy of the government and the spiteful critiques of his jealous colleagues. He was one of the last remaining believers in the importance of the science of Thracology and the magnitude of the Thracian Orphism. Together with Prof. Alexander Fol, who passed away in 2006, and 2-3 surviving Thracologists, Dr. Georgi Kitov was one of the few left defending this great civilization against the intents of the Greek government to melt down the significance of the Thracians’ cultural heritage into a small contribution to Magna Graecia.

With more than 200 publications and books about the Thracian culture, he became famous after discovering the gold mask of Seuth III in 2005, together with a rich burial and cult tomb of the great Thracian King. National Geographic featured him in a sad article about the Bulgarian Gold Rush as the savior of the remaining treasures. Discovery channel filmed him while unearthing the next gold mask in 2007 in a typical Orphic burial. Sites as Alexandrovo Tomb, Kosmatka, Svetitzata, Starosel Cult Complex, and others in the Valley of the Thracian Kings owe him not only the discovery, but also the documentation, publication and preservation of the finds. The Kazanluk Museum of History owes him half of its artifacts, and the most valuable ones.

Because of the immense value of the gold artifacts and the monumental and artistic significance of the discovered Thracian tombs, Dr. Georgi Kitov became a star. Everybody from Russia to USA and from Sweden to Spain knows that. Only he didn’t know it. When I asked him for an autograph, he looked at me as if I was crazy and said “I am not a star”. I tried to argue that he is, that Prof. Dr. Marazov. Prof. Dr. Valeria Fol and he, Dr. Kitov are the stars of a science, where few succeed and fewer are left.

All Thracologists in Bulgaria can be fit in less than a 50 seats room – that includes archaeologists, who are specialized in the period, the Institute of Thracology (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences), and the ones from the Archaeological Institute of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences). For these handful of people, Dr. Kitov was the only one with private funding who didn’t totally depend on the miserable support of the Bulgarian government, neither from foreign government funds with their correspondingly attached political agendas.

Who will follow Dr. Georgi Kitov and who will be next star of the Thracian archaeology? Nobody in the horizon yet. In the meantime, the treasure hunters will have a field day (textually) digging out cultural heritage from this great civilization and exporting it to richer countries. In the meantime, Bulgarian archaeologists paid by foreign governments will try to dismiss the importance of the Thracian Civilization (as they were trying during the communist times) in favor of Magna Graecia (Greek paid), Scythia (paid by Russia) or Anatolian cultures (paid by Turkey).

This way, a civilization surviving 3 millennia will be thrown into oblivion again for who knows how many years. And instead to admire its remnants in the Bulgarian museums, we will have to make the tour of Christies and Sotheby’s or Louvre, the Metropolitan and British Museums.

The Thracian civilization orphaned again today. We, the Bulgarians too – since we are the grandsons and granddaughters of this glorious people, the Thracians, known to the history since the down of times.

© Rossitza Ohridska-Olson

Managing no-destinations

Cultural heritage, folklore, crafts, nice and welcoming people are not enough for a place or region to become a cultural tourism destination. What is necessary and why I am so frustrated after my trip to Macedonia a week ago? Read about my experiences and about what this has to do to become a cultural tourism destination in the next 5 to 10 years.

Picture to the left: Staro Nagorichene church. One of the national monument of culture of Macedonia. No pictures allowed inside, but you cannot buy a brochure, or even a postcard. No place around to buy a water, coffee, or sourvenirs.

And, no signage to find the church, much less to mark it in a map of cultural attractions of the region.

Otherwise, the place is a gem. And it will be much more appealing after the govermnet of Macedonia invest 800,000 Euros in restauration and marketing.