BEST IN TRAVEL FOR 2015 TOURISM FORUM BULGARIA - ITALY 6 JULY 2015, SOFIA

PLOVDIV IS THE SIXTH AMONG THE WORLD'S 20 OLDEST CITIES; THE THIRD AMONG EUROPE'S 16 OLDEST CITIES PLOVDIV – A ROMAN GRANDEUR EAST OF ITALY LONELY PLANET - BEST IN TRAVEL FOR 2015 PLOVDIV, MEANWHILE, HAS A FAR STRONGER CASE; WITH EVIDENCE OF CONTINUOUS SETTLEMENT DATING BACK TO 6,000BC; THIS IS THE BIGGEST AND LOVELIEST OF ALL CITIES. ITS BEAUTY SHINES FROM FARAWAY… LUCIAN AD

Plovdiv London Madrid Paris Rotterdam Hamburg Warsaw Munich Milan Istanbul Athens Bucharest. Rome. Vienna BEST IN TRAVEL FOR Thessaloniki COUNTRY Turkey Germany Italy UK France Greece USA Russia Israel Romania VISITORS PER COUNTRY - TOP 10

117 – accommodation facilities More than 3,500 places for entertainment 2 – 5 Hotels 8 – 4 Hotels 42 – 3 Hotels 24 – 2 Hotels 41 – 1 Hotels Number of beds – over TOURIST BASE Growth in % OVERNIGHT STAYS PersonsRevenue BulgarianForeignersTOTAL ,04%22,42%12,67%8,53%28,34% ACCOMMODATION RATE National Statistical Institute More than tourists visited Plovdiv in 2014

8 THOUSANDS YEARS HISTORY Over 200 immovable monuments Over movable cultural monuments exhibited in six museums of the city: Ancient Plovdiv Municipal Institute Archaeological Museum Historical Museum Ethnographic Museum Natural History Museum City Art Gallery 5/25/2015

Roman culture Middle Ages National Revival period XX c. THE ANCIENT PLOVDIV HISTORICAL RESERVE Prehistory Thracian culture Hellenistic period COVERS AN AREA OF 35 HECTARES WITH MORE THAN 50 TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

ANCIENT PERIOD IV C BC Philip II I – IV C AD Roman Period 3,500 marble seats 28 rows and an Imperial Lodge … ANCIENT THEATRE - one of the best preserved in the world, dated 2 nd C AD

ROMAN STADIUM An imperial building, one of the biggest, dated 2 nd century 240 m long and 50 m wide spectators With a 3 D cinema and a new information centre THE NEW TOURIST SITES

THE SMALL BASILICA NEWLY OPENED AND UPCOMING SITES Regatta venue Bishop basilica 3D planetarium in Natural History Museum Zoo … CENTRAL CITY GARDEN WITH WATER ATTRACTIONS

BULGARIAN SOHO – KAPANA CREATIVE DISTRICT

CULTURE CALENDAR 2015 MORE THAN 100 EVENTS 36 INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS BEST IN TRAVEL FOR 2015 OVER PEOPLE AUDIENCE PER YEAR GUEST OPERA STARS FROM THE ARENA DI VERONA, LA SCALA, THE METROPOLITAN OPERA, THE BOLSHOI THEATRE AND OTHER PRODUCTION OF CARMEN, TURBADUR, SALOME AND AIDA ETC. OPERA OPEN FESTIVAL

. BEST IN TRAVEL FOR 2015 PLOVDIV WILL BE EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE IN 2019 Plovdiv 2019’s art programme includes 4 platforms and 12 clusters: FUSE is about bringing people together from South-Central region and Europe. TRANSFORM – convert urban spaces and education, rethinking abandoned places. REVIVE is about art, culture heritage in contemporary context. RELAX – promote slow & sustainable lifestyle.

. BEST IN TRAVEL FOR 2015 GROWTH IN TOURISM FOR THE FIRST MONTHS OF 2015 IS ABOUT 11% EXPECTED GROWTH OF TOURISTS IN % IN 2019 WE EXPECT 4 TIMES INCREASE THE NUMBER OF TOURISTS - MORE THAN

Municipality of Plovdiv Tourist information LONELY PLANET'S EXPERTS HAVE TREKKED THE GLOBE TO SELECT THE BEST CITIES TO VISIT IN 2015 AND PLOVDIV IS AMONG TOP 10! TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT!