Minister Angelkova and the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization opened the First International Congress on World Civilizations and Creative Tourism in Sofia.

29 November 2016

We feel at home in Sofia and we are here to collect the legacy of the past and to look into the future through the new horizons of creative tourism and to do this, we need political will. With these words the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) Taleb Rifai opened the ceremony, which launched the First International Congress on World Civilizations and Creative Tourism in the Bulgarian capital.

The large-scale event is organized by the Ministry of Tourism and the specialized UN Organization. Over 40 state delegations and over 20 ministers and high-rang officials in the field of tourism from all over the world take part in it. Before its start, the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov had a meeting with the heads of the delegations.

“The political will to create a separate Ministry of Tourism and the national priority status given to the industry are the factors that made it possible to organize the largest event in 2016”, said Minister Angelkova. In her words, the same reasons are the grounds for the success reported this year.

“Bulgaria is a small country, but we also have a lot to share. Being a country of thousands of years of history and a rich heritage from ancient civilizations, the disclosure of the potential of our cultural wealth is a top priority. We are among the top three countries of Europe according to the number of discovered artifacts and immovable historical monuments”, added Minister Angelkova.

She stressed that this is precisely why the cultural and historical tourism has a leading focus in the advertising and marketing policy of Bulgaria as an all-year-round destination since the creation of the Ministry of Tourism. “At the same time we are aware that we live in times of unprecedented technical discoveries and innovations. Many of them may and must be used in the tourism industry”, she also said.

“In 2016 Bulgaria celebrates 40 years since it became a member of the WTO. The congress is not only a very good way to show the world our potential as a cultural and historical destination, but also to celebrate this anniversary”, said Minister Angelkova and personally thanked Doctor Taleb Rifai for the opportunity provided to Bulgaria to organize this forum.

The scale of the forum indicates the important role of Bulgaria in the international dialog in the field of tourism, stressed Dr. Rifai. He outlined three major challenges that world tourism is facing - how to contribute for the preservation of the cultural heritage, how to establish sustainable strategies and how to cooperate with the creative industries. The Head of the WTO emphasized that the sector has great potential to make the world a better place for living and communication between people. In 2015 over 1.2 billion foreign tourists travelled around the planet. 7% of the commercial activity and 30% of the services in the world are the result of the tourist services. “Tourism is an enormous transforming force and we need to make it a part of our unique cultural experiences, the Secretary General said. This is the reason why the creative industries and the technical innovations play a major role in the modern society.

The deputy mayor of the Bulgarian capital Doncho Barbalov also welcomed the participants in the congress and underlined that a city with an ancient history such as Sofia may propose an interesting walk back into the past. He reported that 6.7 million BGN have been invested in the last years in the restoration of tourist sites and UNESCO declared Sofia a UNESCO City of Film. It is among the top 10 cities in Europe with the highest growth of tourists - 7% per annum, which in 2016 will be exceeded.

The congress was attended in absentia by Karmenu Vella, EU Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, who addressed the delegates and guests in a video address. He pointed out that the innovations will entail even more opportunities for the development of modern tourism.

The International Congress on World Civilizations and Creative Tourism will continue tomorrow, 30 November, at 9:30 in Sofia Tech Park.

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