Balkans tourist industry awards for 2015 awarded the municipality of Bansko for the best festival destination. At an official ceremony in Sofia, jury of representatives of the tourist business from Bulgaria, Serbia, Italy and Romania awarded the prestigious prize for the consistent and active policy of the administration to develop the town as a destination festival.
Comparatively small municipality with 13,000 residents pronounced for winter capital of the Balkans and for the third consecutive year was awarded for the prize “Best ski resort in Bulgaria”. The municipality performs its own program for the development not only of winter but also of summer tourism. The Development Strategy of Tourism and the municipal program “Territory of the spirit” are the basis of ambitious projects that Bansko runs.
Over 50 festival formats are in the cultural calendar of the municipality, the most significant of which are the “Jazz Fest”, “Bansko Film Fest”, festival of Balkan music “La Boheme”, Music Festival “Bansko Beat”, Ballet Festival and “Horizon Festival”. On behalf of the municipality, the award was received by the deputy mayor Alexander Matsurev.
“Four years ago we started to enrich the festival program of the municipality in the belief that today’s traveling man wants not only to see but to experience what they saw in their own emotions. Thus was born the new festival formats and existing gained even wider popularity. Only this summer “Bansko Beat” was visited by nearly 30,000 music fans. Besides the traditional audience of “Jazz Fest” in Bansko thousands of fans flocked to the Balkan music to hear the stars of “La Boheme Bansko”. The growth of tourist flow in recent years is 10%” said Alexander Matsurev
