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A real lesson in tourism was delivered in Velingrad by Irish expert Eamon de Stafort. On October 6, he presented Ireland's experience in the field of rural tourism to specialists from the centers of the program "Jobs" from Peshtera, Samokov, Razlog, Gotse Delchev, Devin and few representatives of the tourism industry from Velingrad. Host of the extremely interesting and useful meeting was the Center for Business and Information / Agency for Regional Development - Velingrad. The event was attended by the chairman of the Municipal Council Nedzhat Kehayov, who presented the tourist potential and the strategic plans for the development of our municipality.
Mr. Eamon de Stafort is an expert with over 30 years of experience, a participant in the birth and realization of the "Irish miracle" that today makes Ireland a model for the whole EU. His account of the first steps in the development of modern tourism he started from the 1960s. The then situation in Ireland sounded familiar: the country was experiencing a severe economic crisis, accompanied by mass emigration and a brain drain. At the state level, the Irish make a strategic decision: invest in education and training; replace muscle strength with brain strength. Then the question arose, "What if we train people and they leave the company?". The Irish answer is: "What if we don't train them and they stay in the company?". The choice to invest in education proved more than right: Ireland became an attractive place to live and work, the population increased, today there are immigrants from all over Europe. In 1973. Ireland joined the EU, which was a leap in the dark; it took them years to get used to the complex procedures of Brussels and Luxembourg, but gradually found their place in a united Europe after 1980. They're amassing enormous benefits. Today Ireland is in a new era - to share experience, Mr Staforth summed up. In the field of tourism, there is much to be learned from the Irish who succeeded in 2003. to generate EUR 3 227 000 000 in revenue from this industry, provided that in 1960 He was bringing them 34,000,000. This huge leap has been greatly helped by EU funding through various programs, the most popular of which is "Leader". 55.7 million was invested initially only for training hotel staff.
Rural development becomes a priority, with the system developed so that local people have the authority to work in their own interest. Ireland is divided into 38 zones, in each of which is formed an initiative group that looks at projects proposed by local people or organizations. No project has ever been approved by the initiative group and then returned by the government, Mr Stafort points to as evidence that philosophy really is about ideas coming from the bottom up. Thus, dozens of railway stations closed because of the recession have been turned into houses for bed and breakfast, and old steam trains with 2-3 wagons entertain tourists; a huge number of old mills, mills, mines have been restored, which have been turned into a tourist attraction; old dilapidated dryers and farm buildings become small hotels with their own appearance and all amenities for guests; local festivals, sports competitions, gorgeous private botanical t. Special attention is paid to the cultural and historical sites (here the Irish guest is jealous of the fact that they do not have tombs like the one just discovered in Bulgaria by Georgi Kitov's team). And last but not least: Ireland's trademark is its pure and untouched nature, green grass, small picturesque villages. It is also a tourist product, nature must be preserved, Mr Stafort advises. We have to make the whole world know how great we are - this is the golden rule of the Irish, thanks to which 6.2 million tourists visited last year. Ireland has a national development plan from 2000 to 2006. with a total budget of 40 billion euros. Of these, 6.7 billion euros are for rural areas. When applying with a project, there is necessarily a percentage of own funding, which varies: if it is for a restoration of a house, the owner provides up to 60%, the rest is allocated per project; for the development of hobby-tourism (fishing, cycling, equestrian sport, etc.) the costs are divided 50:50; for training on a project, up to 90% of the costs are borne and only 10% remain for own funding. The banking system is also profitable and supports the development of small businesses: 3.5-4% annual interest on loans.
The Irish guest was overwhelmed with more questions about how the tourism business in his country was organized. It turned out that they did not know the so-called tourist or resort fee, and owners of hotels and houses for rent pay a profit tax. The categorisation is done by the Irish Tourism Board at the Ministry of Tourism and is by clear standards. Mr. Stafort said that he was surprised that the worst and best hotel he slept in in Bulgaria had the same number of stars. For the honor of Velingrad it turned out that as the nicest hotel the guest is referring to the local "Olymp". His serious criticism of Bulgaria was that nowhere here can be seen the accepted in the EU signboards in brown and white, with which the tourist information is marked. The main lesson from the lesson in tourism was that serious organization at the local level and cooperation of efforts is needed, not to work in isolation. The Irish say that the tourist market employs two big fools: one who sells very high and one who sells very low. The future lies in the partnership, in the local initiative to make a huge effort and be heard on a national level.
The establishment of similar local groups in Bulgaria is forthcoming, announced the Executive Director of CBI/ARR Vaska Milusheva. Currently, the Ministry of Agriculture is starting a discussion to create a national movement for rural development, which will work on a close model.
Elena Baeva