It is best to promote Bulgaria abroad through its cultural and historical tourism

The campaign of the Ministry of Tourism in Germany, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Sweden has reached an audience that is a third bigger than planned.

The promotion of cultural sites is one of the main things that attracted the attention of people in Germany, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Sweden during the advertorial campaign for our national tourist product. Hence, it is advisable to promote Bulgaria abroad mainly through its culture. This is the major conclusion of the evaluation of the performance of the project of the Ministry of Tourism: “Integrated Communication Campaigns for Bulgaria in Integrated Markets”. It is financed by the Operational Programme “Regional Development” of the European Regional Development Fund and the total amount of the signed contracts for promotion in the six target countries is 5.4 million leva, VAT exluded.

The project for the promotion of the national tourist product abroad was launched in 2013; it has been undergoing for 36 months and will be concluded at the beginning of April of this year. It includs various media activities which aim to better inform foreign tourists about Bulgaria as a year-round destination and to create a positive image for the country. It is part of the third programme period of the Operational Programme “Regional Development” and is a follow-up of the project “Integrated Advertising Campaigns of the Bulgarian Tourist Product in Germany, Great Britain and Russia” which was concluded in 2010.

The evaluation of the effectiveness of the undertaken campaigns in 2014 the countries that are historically related to Bulgaria, such as Romania, Russia, Ukraine and Poland have a positive attitude towards Bulgaria; while Germany and Sweden have a moreover neutral attitude.

The report on the performance of the project: “Integrated Communication Campaigns for Bulgaria in Integrated Markets” indicated that the advertising by the Ministry of Tourism in Germany, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Sweden has reached one-third more people than initially planned. The promotional publications and the TV reports in the six countries have reached 59 million viewers and readers, instead of the planned 40 million.

There has been substantial increase in the number of unique visits (measured by single clicks) to the online publications about Bulgaria in the electronic sites – the planned number was 195 thousand while the realized visits are 2.7 million. The broadcast TV reports after the journalistic tours are 2.5 times more than planned; the video clips broadcast on the national TV channels exceed the planned number by 1.7 while the positive publications spurred by PR activities are 483 instead of the predicted 225, indicates the report of the Ministry of Tourism on the fulfillment of the campaign according to the different indicators of the project.

The selected TV channels cover to the greatest extent the target groups and have a positive impact on them; the selection has also been informed by the specific market demand and by what Bulgaria is best known abroad, said Aneliya Genova, state expert at the Ministry of Transport and manager of the project. She noted that the evaluation of the national marketing and the undertaken campaigns in Germany, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Sweden should be finalized during this and the following year.