No! to an overbuilt Black Sea coast, No! to alcohol tourism. This is the position upheld by students from three Sofia schools. They formulated it, after developing innovative investment projects as an alternative to the land-development plans for Karadere, the most pristine of all spots along the Bulgarian Black Sea coastline which is a protected territory.

The first plans to build up Karadere go back to 2007; fortunately they were foiled by the financial crisis. Nature conservationists from all over the country have also been protesting against the construction plans. Once again, emotions ran high in the spring when the government announced that the construction of “part of a major resort complex” in Karadere was a priority. And as this is a highly controversial issue a great many people care about, it was given to the students as a project to work on during their “Innovation camp”. The event is part of the Junior Achievement, Bulgaria entrepreneurship training at secondary schools. What are the alternatives for this beach line?  The three top teams presented their ideas to the media. According to the winners, Bulgaria is among the most beautiful and unique tourist venues in Europe, offering a combination of sea, mountain, a long and eventful history and culture. That is why they have decided to develop their project, based on traditional Bulgarian culture, folk music and typical cuisine.

“Foreigners find this exotic,” says Ilya, an 11^th form student at School No. 119 in Sofia. Should Karadere be built over? Here is what Ilya says:

“I do not think there should be five-star hotels or huge discos, casinos or yacht harbours there. But I think something should be done to revive the economy in this part of the country. Locals should be able to find a job here. Our idea is to build 100-120 houses in a typically Bulgarian style. They will be made of natural materials from the region which means transport costs will be low.”

To preserve Karadere, Ilya and the other members of his team are envisaging the least possible amount of logging or construction on an area, covering no more than 15 percent of this territory. And here is the vision for the region of the team ranked second:

“Our ideas were connected with building environmentally-friendly houses which generate their own electric energy,” says Georgi Nachkov, an 11^th form student from the same school. “They will be small and built on the water, so as not to disturb the flora and the fauna. The materials used will be natural, like wood, for example, because it is a high-quality building material and stone, which is to be found everywhere. We also decided that it should be a petrol-free zone. Cars will be left in a designated spot and from there electric vehicles will be used. All tourist attractions, like boats, will be electricity-powered and will not be dependent on fuel. Our project also includes a small purification plant, where impurities will be removed from the waste water. There will be a restaurant. We shall also showcase Bulgarian culture and tradition with events that take people back in time.”

The idea of the team that came third is to have dug-out guest houses. “The trees that will have to be removed will not be felled but uprooted and then re-planted in a winter garden. This will not only preserve them but make this an all-year round resort,” Tsvetelin Bonev explains.

“In sync with my own views on the environment, I was pleasantly surprised by the way these children totally reject alcohol tourism that is so widespread, especially in Sunny Beach and want to see a different kind of tourism. All teams said so and their words were clearly demonstrated by their own projects. What I was glad to see was that instead of simply stating: We want to preserve nature; they actually developed some very specific ideas – for environmentally-friendly transport vehicles, for refuse and waste water recycling. Their research – online as well as with the help of consultants – had its effect. From the points of view of entrepreneurial ideas, there were things they could have done better. For instance, they had not given sufficient thought to financing – where the money for such a project would come from, how revenues would be generated and whether they could cover the expenses. But what really matters is their overall vision - it is now evident there is a new concept of tourism. I think it is high time for this to happen, because this wholesale overconstruction has got to stop.”

English version: Milena Daynova