CONGRESS TOURISM IN BULGARIA

CONGRESS TOURISM

The All-European democratization process creates favorable conditions for the development of Sofia as a busy international and regional congress center. The extremely dynamic social, political and economic situation in the country leads to an increase in the variety and type of congresses and conferences held in the National Palace of Culture. The events hosted, being a reflection of the situation in the country, are mainly of social, political and economic nature. Bulgaria, and Sofia in particular, has turned into a preferred place for the development of congress tourism and a recognized as an attractive tourist destination. The numerous and diverse natural and anthropogenetic tourist resources that Bulgaria has in abundance are the prerequisite for this rapid development. Despite of the fact that Bulgaria occupies just 2% of the territory of Europe, it disposes of more than 40,000 monuments of culture, seven of which are in UNESCO’s World Heritage List, 36 cultural reserves, about 160 monasteries, over 330 museums and galleries. A system of protected territories is established in Bulgaria, which includes three national parks and ten natural parks, a great number of reserves and natural sites. A plentitude of mineral springs with various chemical and thermal characteristics are located on the territory of Bulgaria. The total capacity of these 550 fields with 1600 mineral springs exceeds 4900 l/sec. Over 85% of the agricultural land of the country are environmentally clean. Located on 111 000sq.km area with population of 7.9 million, Bulgaria has magnificent nature, ancient history and authentic culture. The landscape is flecked with enchanting Alpine-type mountains, a magnificent seacoast with silky sand, and crystal clear air. Emblematic for Bulgaria is the famous yogurt, the rose oil, and the wines of fine vintage. Bulgaria is the homeland of legendary Orpheus, so it is not by chance that a Bulgarian Rhodope song is heard in outer space. "Growing up but not growing old" is the motto of Sofia city – the capital of Bulgaria . It has over 7000 year’s old history. There are more than 250 historical, archaeological and architectural monuments in the central part of the city. Fascinating with their architecture are the buildings of Sofia University, the National Theatre in neo-classical style, the National Gallery in Renaissance style, the cathedral ‘’Alexander Nevsky’’ with its golden domes which attract one’s look. Sofia is 4 hours away from the Black Sea and 1 hour away from the international ski resort complex Borovets. The building of the National Palace of Culture, in the center of Sofia , is also an extremely impressive one.