CULTURAL TOURISM: OPPORTUNITIES FOR REGIONAL TOURISM PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT THE CASE OF ROMAN MILITUM CASTRA "DIMUM" Plamen LAKOV, Assoc. Prof., University of Agribusiness and Rural development, Faculty of Economics and Management, Department of Regional development and tourism e-mail: [email protected] Vladimir NAYDENOV, Regional Historical Museum – Pleven, e-mail: [email protected] Ivanka SHOPOVA, Assist. Prof., University of Agribusiness and Rural development, Faculty of Economics and Management, Department of Regional development and tourism e-mail: [email protected] The paper is part of a research series for ancient sites in Northern Bulgaria. It aims at realising the full potential of a region's resources to develop integrated, competitive and specific tourist products with high added value which contribute to sustainable regional development and improve the quality of life through increased tourism demand. There are many military sites of the Roman Empire preserved on the Bulgarian section of the Danube. Their inclusion in a common cultural route will promote the development of the tourist destination and the whole Danube region. The article contributed to the topic through the assessment of the potential of the Roman militum сastra "Dimum" as a cultural and historical tourist resource. An evaluation is made under the following criteria: potential for development, degree of impact / interaction, degree of modification with relevant indicators. The fieldwork and surveys were made in the summer of 2017 before active archaeological season and they show an instant "snapshot" of the actual state of the object. The tourism policy in the region is analysed and finally appropriate conclusions and recommendations are provided. The study will be continued through a new antique site. The ultimate goal is the development of sustainable regional tourism that attracts a significant number of visitors and enhances the quality of service. Keywords: tourism product, cultural tourism, tourism development policy. Introduction Along the Danube River there are stunning cultural and historical landmarks that reveal both the general and individual history of each of the ten countries on its way to the Black Sea. Bulgarian section is 471 km long. There are situated 7 administrative regions and 22 municipalities are directly bordering the Danube. Natural heritage includes 3 nature parks (Persina, Roussenski Lom and Vrachanski Balkan), 3 maintained reserves – among them is the Srebarna Lake biosphere reserve placed in the World Heritage List of UNESCO, 2 nature reserves, 4 protected sites, one protected landmark and 19 protected trees, NATURA 2000 zones. Cultural heritage is also very rich: 3 sites inscribed in the list of UNESCO of world heritage (the rock-hewn churches of Ivanovo near Rousse, the Thracian tomb of Sveshtari near Razgrad and the Srebarna Lake near Silistra. Another 13 properties are submitted by the country on the tentative list, of which 6 are in the region; 318 national monuments of culture, museums, about 40 Danube Limes sites - a system of military fortifications on the right bank of the river that used to impede barbarian attacks from north and east1. All Roman sites along the Bulgarian Danube are included in the cultural route Roman Emperors and Danube Wine Route which is approved by the Council of Europe and becomes a part of the European Cultural Routes Network by presenting a shared cultural heritage and identity. The cultural corridors and routes represent an extremely valuable resource for the development of the cultural and historical tourism on the territory of Bulgaria, which includes a great part of the common heritage in the Balkans. The ‘Roman Limes’ represents the border line of the Roman Empire at its greatest extent in the 2nd century AD. It stretched over 5,000 km from the Atlantic coast of northern Britain, through Europe to the Black Sea, and from there to the Red Sea and across North Africa to the Atlantic coast. The remains of the Limes today consist of vestiges of built walls, ditches, forts, fortresses, watchtowers and civilian settlements. Certain elements of the line have been excavated, some reconstructed and a few destroyed2. After successfully implemented Culture 2000 project (started in 2005) the Frontiers of the Roman Empire became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the largest archaeological monument in the EU and amongst the largest in the World. In 2005 the Upper German Limes (Reatian Limes) is included into the World Heritage List following the preceding accession of Hadrian’s Wall (Great Britain, England) in 1987. In 2008, the Antonine Wall (Great Britain, Scotland) joined them. In 2008, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria proposed castles from the Roman Limes at their territories to be included in the World Heritage List. In 2011 the Netherland joined. The Roman Limes extends its territorial scope beyond Europe. In 2012 Tunisia is included as a sector of the African Roman Limes. Separate 1 Final reports on pilot testing of the European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS) in the Danube region, June-September 2014, submitted to the European Commission, Danube region: http://www.fpdd.bg/en/page/fpdd%20materials 2 UNESCO » Culture » World Heritage Centre » The List » World Heritage List: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/430/ 43 Roman fortifications in Syria and Jordan are also joined although they are not explicitly referred to as "Limits of the Roman Empire". Thus, the complex of Roman military facilities already stretches across three continents - Europe, Asia and Africa. Nowadays the Roman Lime is an impressive archaeological landscape with thousands of military facilities: fortresses, forts, towers and civilian settlements linked to a developed network of roads and road facilities. In many places the remnants of this fortified boundary, lying above and below the ground, are extremely well preserved. Since 1985 Bulgaria has not had an object included in the UNESCO Indicative List. The Bulgarian Danube Limes is facing such an opportunity because the country participate with the most number of archeological sites. In the process of exploring their number reaches 18: Fortress Drustar/ Durostorum (town of Silistra), Roman castle of Transmarisca/ Transmariska fortress (Tutrakan), Dimum (Belene), Novae (Svishtov), Sexaginta Prista (Ruse), Yatrus fortress (village of Krivina), Ulpia Oescus (village of Gigen), Byzantine fortress Augusta (village of Harlets), Ratsiaria (village Archar, Vidiv), Bononia (present Vidin), Almus (present Lom), Cevrus (village of Dolni Tsibar), Regianum (Kozlodui), Fortification in Oryahovo, Valeriana (Dolni Vadin), Palatium/Palatiolum (the ancient settlement under the modern village of Baykal, Pleven), An Asamus II (Cherkovitsa), antiquity fortress Quintodimum (Belene), Romania Batin (Ruse), The fortress of Skydava in the village of Batin (Ruse), Triammium in the village of Mechka (Ruse), Mediolana in the village of Pirgovo (Ruse), Tegra in the village of Marten (Ruse), Early Byzantine castle "Kinton" in the village of Nova Cherna (Tutrakan), Late-Roman fortress Nigrinianis (village of Dolno Ryahovo, Silistra), fortress Candidiana in the village of Malak Preslavets (Silistra), Tegolitium in the village of Vetren (Silistra). Figure 1. Some of the Roman sites on the Bulgarian section of the Danube River Source: http://www.fpdd.bg/ Material and methods The paper is part of a research series for ancient Roman sites in Northern Bulgaria which aim to present the possibilities of creating a specialized form of cultural and historical product that ensures sustainable utilization of tangible heritage on the Bulgarian coast of the Danube. While policies for maintenance, restoration, accessibility and exploitation of cultural heritage are primarily national or local responsibilities, cultural heritage is directly addressed in several EU policies, including culture, environment, research and innovation, education, regional policy and customs cooperation (EC, COM (2014) 477: 2014). This highlights the importance of such a type of research which contributes to improving synergy at national and international level. The main research methods are classical empirical approach, statistical methods, descriptive and comparative analysis. Methodology applied in assessing the potential of the Roman Militum Castra "Dimum" is primarily designed for historical and cultural sites. The following three criteria for evaluating are used1: 1. Capacity (potential, ability) Development (CD) – consistent with the factors and conditions for development of the resource. 2. Degree of impact/ influence – the level of attractiveness is estimated. 3. Degree of modification (resulting from the tourism) – evaluation of utility/ value/ significance of the tourist attraction. The methodology includes: Method of point rating - a certain number of points is awarded by the selected characteristics of cultural and historical resources, specific indicators to measure them and aggregate subjective opinions; the sum of the awarded points form the total rating of the given object; selected characteristics and corresponding indicators have different weight in the assessment, which is defined in points (1 to 100); 1 According to „Methods for evaluation of cultural and historical tourist resources and their potential”, IPA Cross-Border Programme CCI Number 2007CB16IPO008, Alliance for regional and civil initiatives (ARCI) –Haskovo branch 44 the maximum number of points for a certain object is 100 and it is formed as a sum of the