Planning and Development of Tourism in the Protected Areas in Bulgaria

Abstract

The survey examines the types of protected areas in Bulgaria, their conservation status and possibilities for optimum planning and sustainable development of tourism. The importance of the tourism management in each kind of protected areas and its instruments to achieve it are presented in the study. It analyses the different legal regulations of the management plans, their structure, advantages and the mechanisms for improvement of the regulations. The main point is the essence of management plans of protected areas, their importance and role for tourism development. An analysis and comparison is made among existing management plans for selected protected areas – nature and national parks. The difficulties and the problems are indicated and some resolutions are suggested. The mechanisms to improve the functioning of their aims in tourism development are indicated and proposals for elaboration are submitted. Some of the main points are the branding and the certification as instruments for increasing the quality of tourism products. The particular decisions for a better regulation and solutions for reduction of the challenges are specified in the survey.