by Rossitza Ohridska-Olson (more about me in the end of the article)

In less than a day, two news affecting the Bulgarian cultural heritage hit the world wires: a sensational discovery of a completely preserved Thracian chariot by Dr. Daniala Agre, (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/07/AR2008080700825.html) and almost complete loss of an ancient ship, thanks to the criminal indifference of the Bulgarian government to preserve the underwater cultural heritage left by the great civilizations inhabiting our territory - http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/ancient-sunken-ship-near-varna-savaged-by-fishing-boats/id_30993/catid_70.

What is the moral of both stories? That Bulgaria has incredible cultural heritage, hidden under earth and water (third in Europe after Italy and Greece by number of cultural heritage sites and artifacts in museums and galleries) and little is done to preserve it or to promote it as part of the cultural tourism. Another example are the Thracian gold treasures hidden in the National Museum of History, and other regional museums, which, in spite of the huge article in National Geographic, are not serving as a magnet for attracting people with cultural interests.

Why? Because from the 40,000 cultural monuments in Bulgaria, only a handful dozens are known to the public and adapted for visiting and none of them is marketed on a worldwide level, even these which are part of the UNESCO list of cultural heritage. As Mr. Roumen Draganov says: “the Bulgarian cultural heritage is one of the best-kept secrets” from tourists and visitors. In spite of big words, a legislation and good intention, the marketing of culture is still non-existing.

The country doesn’t brand itself properly, the uniqueness is not visible to the visitors and year after year the Bulgarian businesses (developers, local governments, and hotel owners) does everything possible to destroy nature, traditions and authenticity of the culture. Infrastructure and other technical problems prevent easy access to the tourism product – lack of real time direct reservations, ticket buying, information obscurity regarding some of the most beautiful micro-destinations, and inexistent Internet advertising in foreign languages.

And most of all, thanks to the non-professional approach by touroperators and travel agencies on both sides of the deal – Bulgarian and foreign ones – the product of the cultural tourism, in spite the marvelous possibilities of the living and past cultures of the country, becomes a distorted and incomplete McDonalds version of a real cultural experience.

Many other surrounding countries – Macedonia, Serbia, Georgia, Armenia, Kosovo, Albania and even Romania, are going the same way – trying to kill the proverbial hen with the golden eggs.

About me and my blog on Tour of Babel

My name is Rossitza Ohridska-Olson. As a consultant, I provide a unique blend of tourism marketing, communications design and social computing expertise. Culture discovery is the passion of my life. Over the last 20 years I discovered and immersed myself in the cultures of Bulgaria, Spain, Portugal, and the United States. A global nomad, I live in Florida (USA) and Bulgaria (EU), dedicating my entire time to the fast-evolving business of cultural tourism. I consult tour operators, cultural institutions, government agencies, regional development centers, NGOs and private companies in Europe and the USA. I also find time to work on my Ph.D. thesis, a history triller and a book, Imaginary Reality, for the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture

My blog will deal with the vastly unknown cultural destinations of South and Eastern Europe, the cultural discoveries and the business of tourism related to the past and living cultures. As a macro-strategist in that field, and a professional writer on cultural issues, I will do everything possible to use the Internet as a platform to deliver my view on how we all can benefit of knowing more about this region.

My perspective comes from both sides of the Atlantic – from the USA, where I live, and from Europe, where I pass months researching, photographing and “testing” destinations. This way in I help my US and Western Europe clients to better design, market and profit from cultural tourism.

With this blog I will try to share my experience – cultural and business one – of how to market this part of the world as an exiting cultural destination. I am welcoming all comments and questions from the members of Tour of Babel and from everyone interested in multicultural exchanges and promotion of unknown cultures. You can communicate with me in English, Bulgarian, Russian, French or Spanish. I also can read in Italian, Serbian, Portuguese and Macedonian, but please don’t expect from me to respond in these languages – I am still in the dog phase of learning them – I understand, but I cannot speak.

For more in-depth analyses and specialized themes, such as tourism branding, museums and galleries as element of the cultural tourism product creation and marketing, and many others, as well as for my bio and ways to contact me, you can also visit my personal blog at http://culturalrealms.typepad.com.

© rokambur12 for Babel, 2008. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Archaeology, Cultural Discovery, Cultural Tourism

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