7. Wedding tourism – a perspective niche in bulgarian tourism industry

Author: Lilyana Ikova, Krasimir Aleksandrov, Yordanka Ikova

DOI: n/a

Resume

The economic self-determination of Bulgaria is intertwined with the country’s place in modern world economy. The development of tourism provides small countries like Bulgaria with the opportunity for a new kind of intensive progress, connected to the principles of sustainable development.
Tourism is a dynamic branch of the national economy. It undergoes constant changes in search of different experiences for tourists and ways for meeting consumer expectations. Tourism seeks out new alternatives in response to the demand for new cultural, natural, personal and genuine experiences. The different types of alternative tourism emerge mainly due to the establishment of specific interests in tourists. Alternative types of tourism provide the opportunity to satisfy the new recreational needs of tourists, and also have the potential to revive mountainous, rural and other under developed regions outside the established large resorts in the country. Wedding tourism offers a specialized tourism product with multiple characteristics and enriches the main tourist services provided by common tourism.
Bulgaria is blessed with unique capabilities to support wedding tourism. Ancient Bulgarian wedding rituals are highly ceremonial and ornate. Many traditions have been handed down from generation to generation and have been preserved in their pure form, which makes them appealing to tourists from around the world. Bulgaria can provide a variety of unique destinations for wedding tourism – the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, Bulgarian mountains and cultural-historical centres. Wedding tourism in this country is defined as a separate segment on the tourism market. It is being developed success fully by domestic entrepreneurs. It is one of the most promising lines for development in the field of tourism, providing the means to more easily and successfully manage the long-lasting economic crisis in Bulgaria.