ORGANIZATIONS FOR TOURISM REGION MANAGEMENT IN BULGARIA – TRENDS AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

Destination management organizations (DMOs) are well-established management structures in the international tourism practice. In Bulgaria’s legislation, they are defined as organizations for tourism region management (OTRMs). The aim of this paper is to outline the expected trends and the possible challenges for the development of the organizations for tourism region management in Bulgaria. The research is based on methods such as system approach, deduction, induction, questionnaire-based surveys, etc. The main findings of the survey are as follows: there are 7 OTRMs listed in the registry of the Ministry of Tourism and two of the tourism regions have not yet registered such organizations; many people employed in the sector of tourism are still not aware of the functions of these OTRMs; the OTRMs are essential for development and promotion of regional and a national tourism products. The overall conclusion is that OTRMs and their functions are still not well-established in Bulgaria although they could be a key factor for a successful repositioning of the country as a tourism destination, development of competitive tourism products, and sustainable development of tourism.

Keywords

• organizations for tourism region management (otrms)
• regional tourism product
• tourism destinations
• sustainable development
• tourism