Projekt: Rural Tourism in Southwest Bulgaria

The project: Support for rural tourism in Southwest Bulgaria through the establishment of a model training network (Short title: Rural Tourism in SW Bulgaria) is implemented by two leading organizations: Syntra West from the Flemish side, which is an organization with rich experience in similar projects in Eastern Europe, and the Pirin Tourism Forum. The other partners are the State Tourism Agency of Bulgaria and the municipalities of Gotse Delchev, Bansko and Razlog. From the Flemish side, the partner is the training organization of Westtoer. Funding is provided by the Flemish Government and the partners.

Project duration: January 2008 – December 2009

Project budget: 152845.50 EUR, of which 95000 are provided by the Flemish Government, and the rest – by the partners.

Project scope: Municipalities of Gotse Delchev, Bansko and Razlog with the selected pilot/model villages: Delchevo from Gotse Delchev Municipality; Kremen from Bansko Municipality and Banya from Razlog Municipality

Project target groups: Local suppliers of accmmodation and other services from the villages in the three municipalities.

Project objective(s): Establishment of a model for stimulation of rural tourism through human resources development.

Activities/results:

1. Inventory of the human resources for rural tourism in the three municipalities and training needs assessment; selection of a core target group of 16 people with the highest interest and motivation;

2. Training of the core target group in entrepreneurship and basics of rural tourism;

3. Study visit of the core target group in Flanders for exchange of experience in rural tourism;

4. Individual coaching for the tourism suppliers by Flemish and Bulgarian experts;

5. Publication and dissemination of a travel guide for the area of the three municipalities.