On November 8 and 9, at 10:00 a.m., an international exhibition of the tourism industry from the Black Sea region will be held in the city of Varna. The main theme of the event is tourism based on experiences with a focus on cultural and historical heritage, and the place: 13A “Oborishte” street, conference hall of VUM.

The concept of the experience economy emerged about 20 years ago and quickly gained popularity. Today, almost every consumer declares his preferences for products that provide him with added value – a delight for the senses and a memory for a lifetime. Companies from all sectors have armed themselves with the toolkit of modern technologies – artificial intelligence, virtual reality, robots and more – to offer a unique experience. For the tourism sector, which largely relies on the resources of the past – the cultural and historical heritage left to us, this was a real challenge. Yet, it took very little time for hospitality operators to create and promote innovative business models.

The upcoming event will look at just such successful practices. The emphasis on the first day (8. XI) will be on the examples from Armenia, Georgia and Greece, and on the second (9. XI) on the ingenuity of the native operators. A series of complementary lectures are also planned, in which Prof. Stanislav Ivanov – an established researcher and teacher in the field of tourism (VUM) and Pavlin Kosev – chairman of the Varna Association of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers (VARH), and other experts, will give the participants practical guidance on the creation and promotion of such products, possible technological innovations and public policies on which they can rely. For the finale, the chefs from the Culinary Arts Institute at VUM will offer a unique experience for the palate – a demonstration and tasting of a typical regional dish.

The forum will provide conditions for creating new business partnerships and building networks and cooperation.

The exhibition is open to all interested parties and will be useful for the work of all operators in the hospitality sector, non-profit and industry organizations, researchers and consumers. Pre-registration is required: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMxisWF7O8wyEfRa8xmxCkWx1I1I6JAvx77jgEZaVxPq2ykA/viewform

The event is organized by Varna University of Management within the framework of the PRO EXTOUR project “Promotion of experiential tourism with a focus on the cultural and historical heritage of the Black Sea Basin”, which is implemented under the SOP “Black Sea Basin 2014 – 2020”.