Participation of Mr. Petar Kanev, PABSEC Vice-President in the Second International Congress on World Civilizations and Historical Routes, Sofia, 15-16 November 2018
During 15-16 November 2018, Mr. Petar Kanev, PABSEC Vice-President and Chairman of the Committee on Economic Policy and Tourism in the Parliament of the Republic of Bulgaria took part in the Second International Congress on World Civilizations and Historical Routes, organized by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) at the UN in Sofia, Bulgaria.
More than 500 participants attended the Forum - ministers and tourism managers from Southeast Europe and Asia.
The participants were welcomed by: Mr. Jaime Sanclemente, Deputy Secretary-General of the WTO; Mr. Petar Kanev, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly for Black Sea Economic Cooperation; Mr. Michael Christidis, Secretary-General of the Organization for Black Sea Economic Cooperation; Ms. Nikolina Angelkova, Minister of Tourism of the Republic of Bulgaria; Mr. Vezhdi Rashidov - Chairman of the Committee on Culture and Media in the Bulgarian Parliament.
In his speech Mr. Kanev informed the participants about the development of tourism in the Black Sea region and PABSEC activities in this field. He pointed out that the Member States of the Assembly have joined efforts to achieve the strategic competitiveness of the tourism sector in the region and its transformation into one of the leading tourist destinations. Their activity is aimed at promoting the sustainable development of the sector; at the implementation of projects in the field of maritime, winter, culture, wine, gourmet and cruise tourism; at the introduction of innovations and new tourism products to attract visitors from the European market and from distant markets with increasing significance, such as the countries of Asia and America. In conclusion, the Deputy Chairman of PABSEC pointed out that the Parliamentary Assembly for Black Sea Economic Cooperation and the Organisation for Black Sea Economic Cooperation are among the most important international regional platforms, through which these goals may be developed further.
Among the main topics was the initiative of the World Tourism Organization “Western Silk Road”.
In the final moments of the event, the Minister of Tourism of Bulgaria, Mrs. Nikolina Angelkova proposed the idea to establish a world destination named “Ancient civilisations” to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), which will be open to many countries and regions with ancient cultures.