NEWS /Tourist Guides in Protected areas in Bulgaria
Between October 22 and 26, a 5-day training course was held in the Visitor Center of Rila Monastery Nature Park for tourist guides from Bulgarian protected areas under a project funded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU). The training was organized by the non-governmental organization of Pirin Tourism Forum, one of project partners, while the German partners from Terolog GmbH and BTE Tourism and Regional Consulting provided the main lecturers.
The future guides from the nature parks of Rila Monastery, Belasitsa, Vitosha and Vrachanski Balkan, as well as the national park of Central Balkan were prepared to develop their own programmes for hiking tourism. Mrs. Dorothe Luetkemoeller from the Lead partner of Terolog shared German experience with provision of guides in protected areas whereas Mr. Manfred Rosenberger from the National Park of Donau-Auen in Austria presented to participants the principles of nature interpretation which they applied to the afternoon sessions in Rila forests.
Mrs. Juliane Koch from BTE focused on the compilation of tourism products and their market realization. At the same time, Mrs. Maria Stankova from the Tourism Department of the Economic Faculty of The Southwest University in Blagoevgrad made a review of Bulgarian tourism legislation and its effect on the development of tours in Bulgarian parks. During the last day of training, Mr. Vladimir Milushev from the Bulgarian Biodiversity Foundation – Belasitsa Branch shared some practical advice from his long experience as a tour guide of hiking groups in Bulgarian mountains.
The participants were given tasks for ‘homework’ before the next 5-day training in February 2019 which will end by a practical exam for the acquisition of certificates from the German partners. The project will continue with the establishment of a specialized Internet platform for promoting the new guides and their tours at the international tourist market, accompanied by marketing measures on the spot in Bulgaria.