Selling Bulgaria. Finally the Right Way

Bulgaria has generally been doing a terrible job "selling" itself in terms of both international image and as a tourism destination.

This goes all the way from being known in the West as the closest Soviet ally doing Moscow's dirty work in the Cold War to the alcohol/sex-driven tourism its beaches are known for in the post-communist era. And let's not forget the stereotypically lame advertising videos aired on Eurosport and Discovery, lavishly sponsored by the Bulgaria government with tax payers' money, most of which ends up in the pockets of notorious consultants.

Just recently, however, there have been a couple of instances indicating the right way for Bulgaria's promotion - because international image and tourism simply go hand by hand.

"Bulgaria had 43 Chinese children from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake zone here for recuperation. That made your name in China. It was on the news, and everybody was saying, "Oh, look at Bulgaria!" It was very good promotion. You should capitalize on that good image,"- this is what China's Deputy Foreign Minister Fu Ying told me in an interview pointing out possibly the best approach for Bulgaria's promotion.

By the way, Bulgaria came across this good deed and great way of self-promotion by accident. In 2008, the Stanishev government, for the first time in Bulgaria's history, set aside a tangible but still vastly modest sum for foreign development and relief aid. It was the Chinese authorities who decided to spend the sum by sending 43 kids from the quake-hit region on vacation in Bulgaria.

Now two leading Bulgarian tourist cities – Veliko Tarnovo and Varna – have announced plans to provide free vacations for Japanese kids from the regions devastated by the March 11, 2011, earthquake. Let's hope that this smart and honorable way of doing good for the others and for Bulgaria itself will really catch on.

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