BEST IN TRAVEL FOR 2015

TOURISM FORUM BULGARIA - ITALY 6 JULY 2015, SOFIA

• PLOVDIV IS THE SIXTH AMONG THE WORLD'S 20 OLDEST CITIES;

• THE THIRD AMONG EUROPE'S 16 OLDEST CITIES

PLOVDIV – A ROMAN GRANDEUR EAST OF ITALY

LONELY PLANET - BEST IN TRAVEL FOR 2015

• PLOVDIV, MEANWHILE, HAS A FAR STRONGER CASE;WITH EVIDENCE OF CONTINUOUS SETTLEMENT DATING BACK TO 6,000BC;

THIS IS THE BIGGEST AND LOVELIEST OF ALL CITIES. ITS BEAUTY SHINES FROM FARAWAY…LUCIAN 165-166 AD

Plovdiv

•

London

•

Madrid

•

Paris•

Rotterdam•

Hamburg

•Warsaw

•

Munich

•

Milan•

Istanbul •

Athens

•

Bucharest

.

Rome

.

Vienna•

BEST IN TRAVEL FOR 2015

.Thessaloniki

COUNTRY

Turkey

Germany

Italy

UK

France

Greece

USA

Russia

Israel

Romania

VISITORS PER COUNTRY - TOP 10

117 – accommodation facilities More than 3,500 places for entertainment

2 – 5 Hotels 8 – 4 Hotels42 – 3 Hotels24 – 2 Hotels41 – 1 HotelsNumber of beds – over 4 400

TOURIST BASE

Growth in %

OVERNIGHT STAYS

PersonsRevenu

e Bulgarian

Foreigners

TOTAL

  2013- 2014

6,04% 22,42% 12,67% 8,53% 28,34%

ACCOMMODATION RATE

National Statistical Institute

More than 800 000 tourists visited Plovdiv in 2014

8 THOUSANDS YEARS HISTORY

• Over 200 immovable monuments • Over 300 000 movable cultural monuments exhibited in six museums of the city:

• Ancient Plovdiv Municipal Institute• Archaeological Museum• Historical Museum• Ethnographic Museum• Natural History Museum • City Art Gallery

5/25/2015

• Roman culture • Middle Ages • National Revival

period • XX c.

THE ANCIENT PLOVDIV HISTORICAL RESERVE

• Prehistory • Thracian culture• Hellenistic period

COVERS AN AREA OF 35 HECTARES WITH MORE THAN 50 TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

ANCIENT PERIOD

• IV C BC Philip II• I – IV C AD Roman Period

3,500 marble seats 28 rows andan Imperial Lodge …

ANCIENT THEATRE - one of the best preserved in the world, dated 2nd C AD

ROMAN STADIUM

An imperial building, one of the biggest, dated 2nd century

• 240 m long and • 50 m wide• 30 000 spectators

With a 3 D cinema anda new information centre

THE NEW TOURIST SITES

THE SMALL BASILICA

NEWLY OPENED AND UPCOMING SITES

• Regatta venue• Bishop basilica• 3D planetarium in Natural History

Museum• Zoo …

CENTRAL CITY GARDEN WITH WATER ATTRACTIONS

BULGARIAN SOHO – KAPANA CREATIVE DISTRICT

CULTURE CALENDAR 2015 MORE THAN 100 EVENTS 36 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS

BEST IN TRAVEL FOR 2015

• OVER 12 000 PEOPLE AUDIENCE PER YEAR • GUEST OPERA STARS FROM THE ARENA DI VERONA, LA SCALA, THE METROPOLITAN OPERA, THE BOLSHOI THEATRE AND OTHER• PRODUCTION OF 2015 - CARMEN, TURBADUR, SALOME AND AIDA ETC.

OPERA OPENFESTIVAL

.

BEST IN TRAVEL FOR 2015

PLOVDIV WILL BE EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE IN 2019

Plovdiv 2019’s art programme includes 4 platforms and 12 clusters:

• FUSE is about bringing people together from South-Central region and Europe.

• TRANSFORM – convert urban spaces and education, rethinking abandoned places.

• REVIVE is about art, culture heritage in contemporary context.

• RELAX – promote slow & sustainable lifestyle.

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BEST IN TRAVEL FOR 2015

GROWTH IN TOURISM FOR THE FIRST MONTHS OF 2015 IS ABOUT 11%EXPECTED GROWTH OF TOURISTS IN 2015 - 12%

IN 2019 WE EXPECT 4 TIMES INCREASE THE NUMBER OF TOURISTS - MORE THAN 3 000 000

Municipality of PlovdivTourist information

tourism@plovdiv.bg www.visitplovdiv.com

LONELY PLANET'S EXPERTS HAVE TREKKED THE GLOBE TO SELECT THE BEST CITIES TO VISIT IN 2015 AND PLOVDIV IS

AMONG TOP 10!TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT!