Rila Monastery Nature Park Management Plan - part - usaid

February 2004
Tourism
Tourism is one of the basic economic branches for development of the Parks territory.
At present, however, tourism in the park has developed without planning and is not
properly managed and far from realizing its full potential for income generation.
Under the present Management Plan, tourism is regarded as the largest potential
sources of income for the territory, the landowner and the local communities.
An estimation of the financial value of some basic services and activities in RMNP
related to tourism is presented below in four tables. The conducted calculations are
based on information received from the tourist facilities managers, as well as
information from visitors for the expences structure and size of the particular visit.
The extrapolation of the turnover is conducted for a tourist flow of 400,000 persons,
which is a rather conservative assessment. In the assessment include facilities of the
Park territory, Rila monastery settlement and the territory along the Rilska River in
the vicinity of the park.
Table 34: Total annual turnover of major tourism services
Table 35: Evaluation of employment payments
Table 36: Transportation expenses to and from Rila Monastery, as reported by visitors
Table 37: Visitor perceptions of the potential cost of a visit to RMNP, based upon
responses to the question: “If an entry fee were to be imposed for Rila Monastery
Nature Park, what in your view would be a reasonable amount and would you agree to
pay it?”
Rila Monastery Nature Park
Management Plan
2004 - 2013
143