Iskar-panega Geopark
Encyclopedia
Iskar-Panega Geopark is the first Geopark
in Bulgaria
encompassing different natural and historical landmarks. It is located in the territory of the Municipality of Lukovit
.
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
in Bulgaria
and contribute to raising its competitiveness.
The beneficiary is the Municipality of Lukovit
.
in Bulgaria
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
was promoted as a factor for social-economic development, the competitiveness of the tourist industry in the region and the attractiveness of this natural heritage tourism
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.
Geopark
A Geopark is defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in its UNESCO Geoparks International Network of Geoparks programme as follows:...
in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
encompassing different natural and historical landmarks. It is located in the territory of the Municipality of Lukovit
Lukovit
Lukovit 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 of 9,630 inhabitants....
.
Formation
Geopark Iskar-Panega Project was implemented with the financial support of the PHAREPhare
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....
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
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and contribute to raising its competitiveness.
The beneficiary is the Municipality of Lukovit
Lukovit
Lukovit 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 of 9,630 inhabitants....
.
Results
The main result of the project was the development of the first GeoparkGeopark
A Geopark is defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in its UNESCO Geoparks International Network of Geoparks programme as follows:...
in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
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
Geotourism is "best practice" tourism that sustains, or even enhances, the geographical character of a place, such as its culture, environment, heritage, and the well-being of its residents....
was promoted as a factor for social-economic development, the competitiveness of the tourist industry in the region and the attractiveness of this natural heritage tourism
Heritage tourism
Cultural heritage tourism is a branch of tourism oriented towards the cultural heritage of the location where tourism is occurring...
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 geoparkGeoparkA Geopark is defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in its UNESCO Geoparks International Network of Geoparks programme as follows:...
in BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
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 tourismSustainable tourismSustainable tourism is tourism attempting to make a low impact on the environment and local culture, while helping to generate future employment for local people. The aim of sustainable tourism is to ensure that development brings a positive experience for local people, tourism companies and the...
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, 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.Contacts
- Municipality of Lukovit
- Tel: 0697 24 66
- Fax: 0697 20 14
- E-mail: lukovit_ob@yahoo.com
- Address: Republic of BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
Lukovit 5770, 73 Vazrajdane Str.
Participants
- Partners: Bulgarian Association for Rural and Ecological Tourism
- Associates: Bulgarian Federation of Speleology, Bulgarian Tourist Union; District Administration Lovech