Bourgas District-Pomorie from Tourism Perspective
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BULGARIA- SOUTH -EASTERN REGION- BOURGAS DISTRICT-POMORIE FROM TOURISM PERSPECTIVE GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION, BORDERS, SEA PORTS On south the South-Eastern Region borders on the Republic of Turkey by three Cross Border Checking Points: Burgas, Tzarevo and Malko Tarnovo. On east the region is wide open to the Black sea through the 8 ports - Burgas, Ahtopol, Tzarevo, Sozopol, Pomorie, Nesebar, Rosenetz and Ribno Port, BUT two major ports on the Black Sea is Varna and Burgas. Both act as East-West transport corridor gateways of Bulgaria. Port facilities are generally adequate for bulk commodities, but lack facilities for special handling. Rehabilitation of both ports is planned. Bourgas is the second largest port in Bulgaria, and is in close proximity to Serbia, FYROM (Former Yugoslavia Republic of Macedonia), Greece and Turkey. The Bulgarian railways network and the Bulgarian national road system link Bourgas with major industrial inland points of the Balkans. Bourgas offers a large port facility, which can accommodate various ships and is close to a modern commercial airport. The Army has an agreement with the Bulgarian military to use it’s recreation facility located about 20 kilometers from the port, which they use to house task force personnel. Using this port provides the Commander-in-Chief, U.S. European Command, with another choice by providing another access point into the Balkans. Previously, KFOR used two ports for cargo movement supporting its troops in the U.S.-controlled sector of Kosovo—Thessaloniki, Greece and Bremerhaven, Germany. In port of Nessabar yearly are coming in big cruise ships, they make approximately 50 stops in this port per year. And every stop lasts from 5-12 hours in place. Ships are cruising under the flags of Germany, Bermudas, Greece, Ukraina, Portugal, France, Finland, Bahamas. Port Varna is the greatest port a complex in Bulgaria. The strategic site of port makes it to perform a part of a gate between Europe and the Near East. It is connected directly with Russia, Georgia and Ukraine with the ferry and lines Ro-Ro. The navigable companies direct regular lines to Istanbul, Athens and other cities of the Western Mediterranean. The port unites four connected parts: Port Varna - the East, Port Varna - the West, Port Balchik and port of Thermoelectric Power station. Well developed infrastructure also connects port Varna with port Lesport and a ferry complex. In Port Varna 20 terminals are accessible to courts with general cargoes, petro- and chemical products, wood, etc., 2 container terminals, for 20 ' and 40 ' containers, and also the passenger terminal. In November 2001 the modern equipment for grain processing has been introduced. At the port complex there are covered and the open space storage places for cargoes on 400 000 sq. m and on 70 000 sq.m. The port offers possibilities of compound cars and is a point of intersection of four European transport corridors. It reduces distance for the cargoes transported between Danube and Black sea by means of the railway bridge which Varna-Rose is called. Available a railway ferry line with Russia, Ukraine and Georgia. Varna is the unique passenger terminal in Bulgaria. The port has a very well developed and regularly updated Basic Plan of the Arrangement which underlies the program of investments for port. Search of investors for building of three new terminals is conducted: terminal Ro-Ro, the grain terminal and the container terminal. Feasibility reports have been executed to investigate possibilities for building of such terminals. According to the updated General layout two new terminals - the terminal for liquid chemicals and the terminal for cement should be constructed in Varna - the West port. Bulgaria has three major government-owned airports, Sofia, Burgas and Varna. Burgas Airport is self-financing the upgrading of traffic control and navigation aid equipment. Its specific geographical location – on the border between Europe and Asia, has contributed to its strategic importance for the new relationships in the modern world. The potential of Burgas Airport for handling passengers and cargo has a strong effect on the development of a transport network, tourism and trade between partners from the East and the West. One of the greatest strengths of Bourgas Airport is the excellent opportunity it provides for intermodal transportation by air, sea and land – Bulgaria’s busiest Port of Bourgas, an important railway junction, the E 87 international motorway and Trans European Corridor № 8 are all located just 10 to 15 km away from the airport. The airport has larger international passenger traffic, mostly charters, during the summer tourist season. During the rest of the year it operates mainly as a cargo airport, with scheduled service to Sofia. The civil and cargo airport is about 15 km. north east from the city and has the best atmospheric conditions on the Balkan Peninsula. It is the only airport in the region to accept ultrasonic airplanes. During the summer it is the main airport for charter flights for international visitors. Burgas Airport reports it registered the 10% growth in passenger flow expected for the season. The largest growth has been in passengers from Russia and Israel. 2010 airport reached 1.5 million passengers. Within a 30 km radius of the airport are situated the attractive seaside resorts of Slunchev Bryag, Nessebur, Elenite and Dyuni, providing accommodation for more than 1 000 000 tourists annually. The tourist season lasts from May to October, thus ensuring steady leisure traffic during this time of the year. The auto and railroad systems are also very well developed. The south eastern region of Bulgaria has very good transport connections with the capital Sofia and the neighboring Turkey. The distance between Burgas and Sofia is 400 km on the highway. All the inhabited places in the region are with running water, electricity, telephones and good transport connections between each other. On west the region is bordered by the South-Central and on north by the North-Eastern Planing Regions. The region consists of 4 districts: Bourgas, Sliven, Yambol and Stara Zagora. The most important rivers in the region are Tunja, Luda Kamchia, Dvoynitsa Hadjiiska, Aytoska, Rusokastrenska, Sredetska, Fakiyska, Ropotamo, Veleka, Rezovska (bordering Turkey). The largest dams are Jrebchevo (bordering the South-Central region), Kamchia, Mandra, Ovcharitsa, Malko Sharkovo. QUICK FACTS ABOUT REGION SOUTH-EASTERN BULGARIA Area size of the region: 14647.6km2 Population of region South-Eastern: 782653 people Provinces in South-Eastern Bulgaria: 4 - District Bourgas, District Sliven, District Yambol, District Stara Zagora Total Municipalities in South-Eastern region: 33 Total Towns and Cities in South-Eastern region: 40 Total Villages in South-Eastern region: 649 BOURGAS DISTRICT Balneological tourism,sea tourism, Eco tourism, cultural tourism, recreation tourism. The Bourgas region is one of the most developed regions in the Republic of Bulgaria. Burgas is the second largest city on the Black Sea coast and has the largest municipality in Bulgaria. It is the second largest in area (next to the Sofia region) and the fourth populated region of the country. Places of Interest - The Black Sea on the one hand and the southern part of the region, which is occupied by the low bordermountains - Strandja, Dervenski Hills and Sakar mountain, on the other hand, are attractive for many tourists. Another interesting touristic sights are the Ropotamo river and Arkutino reserve. The biggest tourist complex is Sunny beach, and the modern holiday villages are Elenite and Duni. Burgas is an important industrial, commercial, transport and tourist center. Nowadays the city has great economic potential. Burgas has the biggest port in the country with the only petrol terminal south to the Balkan mountain. The railway and road networks are well developed. The airport has the best atmospheric conditions on the Balkan peninsula and is the only airport to accept supersonic airplanes. Since 1989 Burgas has been known as a Duty Free Zone. Burgas is the center of the tourism industry on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea coast. It is also a starting point for visiting the Black Sea summer resorts and vacation villages around the city – Sunny Beach, Elenite, Dunes, the towns – museums Nessebar and Sozopol, the Ropotamo reserve, the Strandzha nature park. Burgas beach is very long and the proximity to the city makes it a preferred place for sunbathing. The beach is very windy and famous place to practice wind and kite surfing. At the North end of the beach you can see groups of surfers from May till October. There is a special part of the beach called "Eve’s" beach where people can go nude. According to the economic indicators the Municipality of Burgas is second among the other Bulgarian municipalities. More than 15 000 companies are registered here, and the unemployment is the lowest in the whole of the country - 4.3 %. Burgas has its own spiritual and cultural atmosphere. It is a big educational, scientific and arts center. Burgas and its region are offering a rich variety of opportunities. To the north of Burgas 120 km away is Varna – the other big sea town in Bulgaria. It will take you only half an hour to go to Sunny Beach – one of the most famous summer resorts in Bulgaria, and to the vacation village "Elenite". In the same direction is the old town of Nessebar – a town-museum which has kept the ruins of the ancient Roman town Messemvria. It is under UNESCO’s protection. To the south of Burgas there are also many summer resorts and vacation villages – Chernomorez, Primorsko, Kiten, Lozenez, Tsarevo, Ahtopol. In the same direction there is the town-museum Sozopol, the vacation village Dunes, the International Youth Center – Primorsko and the Ropotamo reserve. In the most southern part of the Region of Burgas is the Strandja mountains.