Once in Sofia and on venturing from the hotel to the less touristy parts one sensed a certain excitement and vibrancy. Things were going on. And judging by the number of bars, restaurants and clothes shops one could have been in Greece or Italy, although there was no similarity in prices. The same vibrancy was evident in the outskirts of Plovdiv, the second industrial city, and whose historic centre is also a major tourist attraction with a Roman amphitheatre that is still in use. In Plovdiv I spoke to Maria Todorova, Manager of the International Fair over lunch. The exhibition hall area is relatively large by European Standards and holds numerous trade fairs throughout the year.
During the TIAW conference on 16th May with speakers from the Government, the private sector and financial community one sensed that Bulgaria means business. Daniela Bobeva, Head of International Relations and European Integration Department of the Bulgaria National Bank gave a particularly interesting overview of the reforms started in the ‘80s and how Bulgaria is preparing to meet the EU criteria. Sasha Bezuhanova, General Manager of Hewlett Packard, Bulgaria, gave an overview from the private sector and stressed that according to a recent EU survey on Bulgaria, it is the 13th most attractive country for foreign direct investment in the world (and that is before the UK). What she also said reminded me of an article in the Italian Financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore of some weeks earlier saying that Bulgaria was the IT world’s best kept secret. Bulgaria is becoming a specialist in high quality contract programming and Sasha mentioned a few large names already availing of the high quality numerate skilled labour (Boeing, BMW, Nortel, SAP, Computer Labs to name but a few.
Investment opportunities exist in many sectors from IT to tourism and fashion. Bulgaria has an important garment industry serving partly the Italian market and wine production.
Networking led to meeting many professional women from different sectors in Bulgaria, Europe and North America. Last but not least Bulgaria is a nature lovers paradise between Sofia and the Black sea. The countryside is mostly undeveloped with donkey and cart still used as a means of transport in agricultural parts. If care is taken ecological tourism could develop based on rural accommodation as in other parts of Europe. However, if that might be too quiet for you and modern resort type hotels are your preference there is no shortage at Sunny Beach on the Black Sea.
Bulgaria has much ancient cultural heritage. We visited many churches with memorable icons and Roman ruins. Maria Ignatova organised a surprise stop at Kazanlak, the capital of the Valley of the Roses with a visit to the Iskra museum, traditional dancing and Thracian tombs.
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