site.btaLIK Magazine August Issue’s Theme Is 130 Years of Organised Tourism in Bulgaria

LIK magazine dedicated its August issue to the 130th anniversary of organised tourism in Bulgaria, which was marked on Wednesday. BTA’s publication will be presented on September 1 as part of the programme of the 41st edition of the Apollonia Arts Festival in Sozopol. The event will be held jointly via video link with BTA’s national press clubs in Bulgaria and abroad. 

Writer and public figure Aleko Konstantinov was the founder of organised tourism in this country.  

“The tourist is a special kind of person – one who lives to enjoy, to entertain themselves, but also, in a way, to be educated,” said social anthropologist Haralan Aleksandrov in an interview for LIK’s newest issue. He discussed recent tourism trends, reflecting the contemporary need for identity, and the expectations and attitudes of today’s tourists. Aleksandrov compared tourism before and after 1989.  

Ventsislav Venev, Chair of the Bulgarian Tourist Union (BTU), defined Bulgaria as a benchmark for European tourism in his interview for the magazine, claiming “it is the most tourist country”. Venev described the development of the BTU and of Bulgaria’s mountain accommodation network, one of the most advanced in Europe and the world. 

LIK’s newest issue also highlighted one of the emblematic initiatives of the BTU – the “Get to Know Bulgaria – 100 National Tourist Sites” movement. Created in 1966, it has no equivalent in the country or abroad. The initiative spans a wide range of natural, historical, cultural, and archaeological landmarks, their number being 242 as of 2024, with each presented in LIK’s August edition. 

LIK’s online edition featured the article “The Economics of Tourism in Bulgaria” by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elena Petkova.  She emphasised tourism’s importance for accomplishing economic growth in Bulgaria. 

Highlights from BTA’s archive of publications on Bulgarian tourism were also featured in LIK’s issue. The oldest news piece included was nearly 120 years old. 

LIK also reported on the latest International Competition for a Bulgarian Tourism Poster, organized by the Ministry of Tourism in partnership with the International Triennial of Stage Poster – Sofia. Jury Chair Prof. Bozhidar Yonov and Albena Spasova shared insights about the initiative and its participants, discussing plans for the submitted posters, including traveling exhibitions. One of the award-winning posters, created by Lyuba Khaleva, was featured on the August cover of LIK. 

Since January 2024, LIK magazine is freely accessible. All issues from its revival in 2022 to the present can be downloaded in electronic format from the BTA website. The August issue, dedicated to the theme “130 Years of Organised Tourism in Bulgaria”, can be found at the following link: https://www.bta.bg/bg/lik-magazine/59.