UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
-run
Geopark
A geopark is a protected area with internationally significant geology within which sustainable development is sought and which includes tourism, conservation, education and research concerning not just geology but other relevant sciences.
In 20 ...
in Northern
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
, located 3 km south of the municipal centre
Lukovit
Lukovit ( bg, Луковит ) is a town in northern Bulgaria, part of Lovech Province. It is situated on both banks of the Zlatna Panega between the Danubian Plain and the foot of Stara Planina. As of December 2009, the town has a population ...
. It consists of two sections: the ''Karlukovo Karst Complex'' () lies in the valley of the
Iskar River
The Iskar ( bg, Искър, ; la, Oescus) is a right tributary of the Danube. With a length of 368 km it is the longest river that runs entirely within Bulgaria.Zlatna Panega valley. Started in 2006, it became the first geopark in Bulgaria, and created temporary employment for 20 previously unemployed people. Another economic effect was that the number of overnights at main lodging facilities in Lukovit increased by 40%, and the number of visits to the city and region rose significantly.
Geopark Iskar–Panega Project was implemented with the financial support of the PHARE Program, (Development of Bulgarian Ecotourism). The main objective of the program was to provide technical and financial support for improvement of the quality of the priority sector of ecotourism in Bulgaria and contribute to raising its competitiveness.
Formation
Geopark Iskar–Panega Project was implemented with the financial support of the
PHARE
The Phare programme is one of the three pre-accession instruments financed by the European Union to assist the applicant countries of Central and Eastern Europe in their preparations for joining the European Union.
Originally created in 1989 as ...
Program “Development of Bulgarian Ecotourism” BG 0202.02/ESC/G/DBET. The main objective of the program was to provide technical and financial support for improvement of the quality of the priority sector of
ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...
in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
and contribute to raising its competitiveness.
The beneficiary is the Municipality of
Lukovit
Lukovit ( bg, Луковит ) is a town in northern Bulgaria, part of Lovech Province. It is situated on both banks of the Zlatna Panega between the Danubian Plain and the foot of Stara Planina. As of December 2009, the town has a population ...
.
Results
The main result of the project was the development of the first
Geopark
A geopark is a protected area with internationally significant geology within which sustainable development is sought and which includes tourism, conservation, education and research concerning not just geology but other relevant sciences.
In 20 ...
in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
encompassing different natural and historical landmarks located on the territory of the Municipality of Lukovit. As a result of the project the development of the municipality as tourist destination is a fact,
geotourism
Geotourism is tourism associated with geological attractions and destinations.Dowling, R. & Newsome, D. (Eds.)(2006) ''Geotourism'' ; Elsevier, Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford Geotourism deals with the abiotic natural and built environments.Sadry ...
was promoted as a factor for socio-economic development, the competitiveness of the tourist industry in the region and the attractiveness of this natural
heritage tourism
Cultural heritage tourism (or just heritage tourism) is a branch of tourism oriented towards the cultural heritage of the location where tourism is occurring.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States defines heritage t ...
area were raised. As a result of project activities a temporary employment was ensured for 20 unemployed people, the number of overnights at main lodging facilities increased (with over 40%) and the number of visits of the city and the region rose significantly.
Activities
The project activities included the development of tourist infrastructure at the territory of Geopark "Iskar–Panega" (wooden bridges, summer houses, and stairs, shelters and picnic sites, platforms) which ensured access for tourists to natural landmarks of national importance and different attractive karts forms. The tourist infrastructure and the tracing of paths created tourist routes of different lengths, through which the tourist is navigated by a system of orientation boards. To make tourist routes more attractive, a non-verbal animation (through information boards) of main sites were made. An assessment of the potential and a marketing strategy were developed to ensure proper management and popularization of the new tourist product. The project also developed and equipped a Balkan Centre of Speleology, in which with prior request, tourists can learn more scientific and curious information about objects in the Geopark from representatives of the local Speleological Club or from specialists from the Bulgarian federation of speleology. During the project first steps for positioning the product were at the tourist market through advertising, meetings with media and local community and other interested parties were organized.
Goals
:To establish the first
geopark
A geopark is a protected area with internationally significant geology within which sustainable development is sought and which includes tourism, conservation, education and research concerning not just geology but other relevant sciences.
In 20 ...
in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
as a tool for promoting the national geotourism potential at European level through the European Networks of Geoparks;
:To create an integrated tourist product based on the mosaic of various national landmarks from karst regions in the Municipality of Lukovit;
:To raise the attractiveness of natural heritage while at the same time promoting
sustainable tourism
Sustainable tourism is a concept that covers the complete tourism experience, including concern for economic, social and environmental issues as well as attention to improving tourists' experiences and addressing the needs of host communities. Su ...
development and preserving natural resources for future generations;
:To broadly promote the created tourist product and develop a marketing strategy for its further popularization in the long run and to larger target groups;
:To stimulate entrepreneurship in the tourism sector and coordinate the interests of public authorities, local communities and private entities in the region.
Sustainability
For a period of one year after project completion the Geopark Iskar–Panega destination will be managed by Municipality of Lukovit. For ensuring additional services that are offered the Municipality works in partnership with the "Unique nature" foundation, Lukovit, Speleological club "Petar Tranteev", Lukovit, and Club for Extreme Sports "Adrenalin". To raise the sustainability of the project, the municipality will continue maintain the infrastructure and will take care for its development and improvement through the development of
public–private partnership
A public–private partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a long-term arrangement between a government and private sector institutions.Hodge, G. A and Greve, C. (2007), Public–Private Partnerships: An International Performance Review, Public Administ ...
, whose main purpose will be in a midterm period to prepare the candidature of the Geopark for membership in the European Network of Geoparks. This will significantly raise the image of the destination, the interest to it and its visitation.
Overcoming Challenges
The extremely sophisticated conditions for the execution of the objects from the tourist infrastructure created difficulties for project implementation. To build the infrastructure according to the working design project and overcome difficulties, alpine method of work were used.
Global Geoparks Network
UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp) are geoparks certified by the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council as meeting all the requirements for belonging to the Global Geoparks Network (GGN). The GGN is both a network of geoparks and the agency of the United Nati ...