site.bta BTA Director General: LIK's July Issue Depicts Albena Resort as Bright Example of Bulgaria's Holiday Culture, Architecture as Art Form

The new issue of Bulgarian News Agency's (BTA) LIK magazine was presented on the day marking 55 years since the opening of the seaside resort of Albena on Saturday. The issue is dedicated to the resort as one of the brightest examples of architecture as an art form and of the holiday culture in Bulgaria, said BTA Director General Kiril Valchev.

He added that the presentation was on the rooftop of one of the resort's new hotels, Amelia, overlooking the five-kilometre beach, and that this hotel is an example of the continuing development of the holiday village. 

"Today, BTA organized in Albena a final conference of the project in partnership with the European Commission 'Europe in the Balkans: a common future', where we announced the next similar project again in partnership with the European Commission - 'Europe in the Balkans: together through knowledge', which will aim to present the common knowledge and skills through which the peoples of Europe are getting closer, focusing not only on the funds received by Bulgaria and the other Balkan countries from the EU cohesion funds, but also on the contribution of the Balkan countries to the development of the EU, as well as specifically on the Bulgarian contribution to Europe," said Valchev. 

The BTA Director General pointed out that the seaside resort of Albena is an example of such a contribution to modern European architecture, but also a contribution to the European "civilization of leisure", in the words of French sociologist Joffre Dumazedier, with a new characteristic namely the mass seasonal out-of-town leisure, which stimulates a secondary resort-tourist urbanization.

Valchev argued that LIK magazine itself is an example of such a contribution to European culture. "Since this month, the BTA publication has a new look - the result of a competition for a new graphic design, in which students from the National Academy of Arts participated," he noted.

In a thematic chronology, the July issue follows news about the resort as presented in the archive bulletins and BTA newsfeeds. Publications about it date back to the mid-1960s, when the idea of such a tourist spot first began to be discussed. The construction of the complex, its opening on August 24, 1969, and its development over the years are topics that have been covered by BTA journalists and highlights of them appear on the magazine's pages, Valchev added. 

He also summarized the contents of this issue of the magazine, pointing out that it also published the first BTA correspondence on the newly opened resort, dated August 24, 1969, which was titled "New Pearl on the Dobrudzha Black Sea Coast". "In the agency's archives we find an account of how the first tourist set foot on the beach that day - that were electrician Stanislav Kumokh and Elena Mullerova from Czechoslovakia," the BTA Director General said. 

"In the introduction to this issue I write about five lessons related to Albena - one for each of its five decades," he explained.

"The first lesson comes from history - we must remember that Bulgaria has traditions that can be built on in many areas of life, including in the construction of places for leisure. The second lesson is that we Bulgarians have objective grounds for self-confidence in many areas of life, including with the country's resorts," he continued. 

"The third lesson from the Albena story in this issue of LIK is that resort urbanization can be comprehensive and in harmony between nature and architecture. That is why in its coverage of the opening of this example of Bulgarian architectural modernism BTA describes Albena as "our most original resort complex". In the following pages, one of its builders, Eng. Svetoslav Georgiev calls the look of Albena a "classic", quoting his professor in architectural design Markovski," Valchev said.

"The fourth lesson is that Bulgarians can preserve and develop what we have achieved. The fifth lesson is about the media messages, which have the responsibility to show those advantages of Bulgaria that - based on tradition and self-respect - Bulgarians have created, preserved and developed. Therefore, with the experience of its 126 years, BTA started to organize twice a year forums to discuss the specific messages from Bulgaria at the beginning of the summer and winter tourist season with representatives of State and municipal institutions, tourism business, media, NGOs, scientists and experts. The fifth edition at the end of this May was exactly in Albena, where the unifying message was "You are welcome in Bulgaria!" - appropriate for the specific summer tourist season against the background of many places that chase tourists, protest against them, increase all kinds of fees, impose restrictions," added Valchev.

Kiril Valchev also added that 55 years ago on July 20, 1969, a man set foot on the Moon for the first time - Neil Armstrong with the Apollo 11 spacecraft. "It seems fitting for a pun like '55 years - first time on the Moon and Albena'. 55 years since the first flights of the Concorde and Boeing 747 aircraft allow analogies like 'Albena - 55 years of flight'. To these reflections we can add [writer] Yordan Yovkov, whose character Albena gives the name to our Albena [the resort]," he added. Valchev ended with Nedyalko Yordanov's words to LIK magazine: "She has remained for me a symbol of love."

"Nedyalko Yordanov - although he admits that he has never been to Albena - wrote the song which is a kind of anthem of the resort," the BTA Director General said.