With the project for 12 Bulgarian EDEN destinations the country promoted an interesting but little known routes
The communication campaign for the presentation of the first 12 Bulgarian EDEN destinations was integrated into the tourist advertising program of the country and they were presented as part of the national tourist product to leading markets and major exhibitions in 2012 - ITB Berlin tourism fair, TTR in Bucharest and "Holiday & Spa Expo" in Sofia. MEET ensured their participation in the exhibition "Green Days" in Sofia and the International Tourist Fair "Cultural Tourism" in Veliko Tarnovo. That was said by the Deputy Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism Ivo Marinov at the closing conference of the EDEN project, which lasted 10 months and ended on 9th September 2012.
To promote these interesting, yet little known routes, different advertising informational materials were made, including image-trilingual booklet (in Bulgarian, English and Romanian) and a map. The conducted online contest for amateur photographs ended with an exhibition in Sofia. In July in Vratsa a Balkan meeting of EDEN destinations was held to discuss possibilities for joint tourist products with neighbouring countries.
To intensify the business partnership between destinations and the exchange of information and best practices for sustainable tourism development, as part of the project a b2b informational and communication platform was created that functions as a website (www.edenbulgaria.eu). It was presented initially as a conference site of EDEN network in Bulgaria.
The EC initiative European Destinations of ExcelleNce (EDEN - "Excellent tourist destinations") promotes sustainable patterns of the sector across the EU and is based on national annual competition. 75% of MEET project "Communication campaign promoting the EDEN destinations in Bulgaria" worth € 64,284 was financed by EC direct grant contract, the remaining funds came from the national budget.
Until now, Bulgaria has participated in three projects - in 2008, 2009 and 2010 on the themes: "Water - source of life and prosperity" (for aquatic tourism), "952: Nature welcomes you!" (for protected areas) and "Thracian spirit" (for cultural heritage). They included 14 municipalities, a cultural area, historical and educational institutions, parks and more. For the period 2011 - 2012, the European Commission chose to promote destinations among tourists and businesses. The implementation of the campaign expands the image of Bulgaria as an excellent place for specialized tourism - eco, cultural, rural, gourmet, spa, etc.