[size=55:30xhi8la]BNR

Green Days for responsible tourism and healthy lifestyle



Bulgarian Association for Alternative Tourism /BAAT/ appeals for preservation of Bulgarian nature and the development of a responsible, nature-friendly alternative tourism. The Association has organized for a second year in a row the so-called Green Days that will take place downtown Sofia. The festival, dedicated to healthy lifestyle and responsible tourism will take place in the garden in front of the National Theatre in the period April 28 – May 1. Over 10,000 people are expected at the fest.



“We have villages in Bulgaria that keep the spirit and tradition of ancient times. Our mountains are impressive with their beauty, the people are friendly and hospitable, they even produce organic wine and bio products. Let’s develop Bulgarian tourism and business in a sustainable and responsible manner, if we want this fairy tale to continue!” That was the appeal that BAAT started an initiative with – an initiative that will gather in the heart of the capital producers of bio products, representatives of municipalities that develop village and eco tourism, along with all those, who love Bulgarian nature. There will be stands in front of the National Theatre that will offer different kinds of certified organic food, mountain gear and goods, related to a greener and more responsible lifestyle. The municipalities will also popularize their latest offers for leisure outdoor activities. Competitions, art workshops and lessons in ecological behavior – those all will be provided for the kids that will visit the festival.

“Organic market is one of the accents in this year’s Green Days – CEO of BAAT Kiril Kaloyanov says. – There will be organic food and bio-cosmetics of local producers. Bulgarian tourist destinations will be presented too. Strandja Nature Park for instance will participate with its own offers for eco tourism, as well as with locally produced foods. The Green Days will include a photographic competition on the subject nature preservation and sustainable tourism and also different competitions – bicycling and climbing of artificial wall. We will also organize the so-called recycling workshops. We want to present different artistic approaches on how we should treat garbage in a useful manner. There will be many ecological movies too.”



The green festival in Sofia also has a business part. An international conference will take place at the Sofia University on April 29, dedicated to responsible tourism. The accents will be on ecological and rural tourism and adventure travels, along with the policy of the Balkan countries in the area.



“The topic of the conference is The Balkans – Destination for Green Tourism – Kiril Kaloyanov says. – A cross-European bicycle route will be presented at it, called Along The Iron Curtain that will include Bulgaria too. We will also discuss the advantages of the Green House Certificate that is given to accommodations that consider good practices in tourism. 37 places in Bulgaria are currently marked this way. Some of their owners will take place in the conference and will expose their methods for developing of responsible tourism. So, the discussion will be definitely interesting!”