Bulgaria Hosting International Tourism Conference

Outgoing Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov (L) welcoming World Tourism Organization head Taleb Rifai to Sofia on November 28, 2011. Photo: BGNES

A global event dedicated to civilizations and tourism is due on Tuesday and Wednesday in Bulgaria's capital Sofia.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is set to inaugurate the event which will bring together Tourism Ministers from around the world.

Opportunities for tourism in Bulgaria and figures illustrating the richness of the country's cultural heritage are to be unveiled by Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova, her institution has said.

Over 40 000 immovable and 7 million movable cultural artifacts and monuments from four historic periods are included in the national heritage of Bulgaria.

But at a conference preceding the event, UN World Tourism Organization's head Taleb Rifai noted the country needs much more to make its diverse cultural history known to a wider global audience, according to a report of the Bulgarian public broadcaster, BNT.

Everyone has heard of the ancient Greeks and Romans, but little does the world know about the civilizations that inhabited the Bulgarian lands in the past, he is heard saying.

Bulgaria should place a stronger emphasis on Thracians and wine in its promotion abroad, he added.  

Heritage of other civilizations will also be presented at the forum, including the culture of Mesopotamia, by Iraqi Culture Minister Faryad Rawandouzi and tourism board head Mahmood Mousa, the Iraqi Embassy has said in a statement sent to Novinite.

Renowned Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass will deliver a report on the "creative regeneration of the ancient Egyptian civilization" during the event on Tuesday, the country's mission to Sofia has announced.

Officials and experts from more than a dozen other countries participate - including Jordan, Azerbaijan, Kenya, Malta, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Cambodia, and Spain - are also attending.

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