Bulgarian Union of Balneology and SPA Tourism /BUBSPA/ is a non-profit organization, operating in compliance with the provisions of the Law of the non-profit legal entities and identifies itself as an organization carrying out activity in public interest.
BUBSPA is a member of the European Spa Association (ESPA).
BUBSPA is a member of the International Institute of Medical Hydrology and Climatology (ISMH).
1. Vision:
- To revive Bulgaria as a winter and summer tourist destination, based on health – balneal, spa and wellness tourism.
- What Bulgaria is offering as an integrated product cannot be found elsewhere in Europe – therapeutic mineral waters, peloids and climate, allowing successful prevention and rehabilitation of socially significant diseases.
- To promote Bulgaria as a prophylactic and rehabilitation center for Europeans.
2. Mission statement:
- Promoting Bulgaria on the international market as a winter and summer tourist health and spa destination.
- Revival of Roman times traditions.
- Regaining the trust of Bulgarian and foreign visitors and partners in the quality of the product.
- Not letting Bulgaria be known as a “shoddy-spa destination”.
- Promoting Bulgaria as a European health center.
3. Values:
- United are stronger.
- Together we can do better.
4. Key objectives:
- To represent joint interests of health, spa and wellness tourism, in view of its development as a priority economic sector.
- To protect the rights of non-governmental associations and tourist companies (considered as traders according to the Act of commerce), developing and representing health, spa and wellness tourism in Bulgaria.
- To encourage protection, development and effective use of Bulgarian resources of mineral waters, therapeutic mud (peloids), climate, etc
- To set up an environment of solidarity and cooperation between the interested public institutions, non-governmental organizations and enterprises in terms of development of health, spa and wellness tourism in Bulgaria.
- To develop, finance and implement national and regional projects in the field of health, spa and wellness tourism.
- To maintain contacts with the central and local governmental authorities in view of improvement of the regulatory and legislative provisions in the field of health, spa and wellness tourism.
- To lobby for a legislative initiative in order to adopt regulative acts conforming to the world up-to-date trends in this branch, protecting interests of companies, operating in the field of health, spa and wellness tourism, as well as the interests of tourists – consumers of the health, spa and wellness product.
- To develop programs of use of mineral waters, therapeutic mud, climate and other natural phenomena towards prophylactic, treatment, rehabilitation and for domestic purposes, and also to create bio-products for health prophylactic and to promote recreation.
- To design new marketing and advertising products in the field of health, spa and wellness tourism, focused on attracting clients for the EU and all over the world.
- To apply effectively strategies and practices of the European Union pre-accession funds and other international financial institutions for further development of health, spa and wellness tourism in Bulgaria.
5. The Association facilitates the achievement of its objectives by:
- Accumulating financial resources through admission fees, membership fees, sponsorship, grants, etc., for the financial support of its operations;
- Preparing and implementation of international projects, financed from the European Union pre-accession, Structural and Cohesion funds and by international donors;
- Issuing opinions, proposals and recommendations in the process of discussing and implementation of nationally significant investment projects, related to the tourist industry, including those, related to the land planning, urbanization and developing of resort areas and establishing effective public-private partnership;
- Providing information, carrying out advertising and research activity, implementation of new programs, practices and facilities in the field of health, spa and wellness tourism;
- Cooperating with similar European and world organizations, and also with international and leading foreign educational institutions in the field of tourism;
- Organizing congresses with Bulgarian and international participation, scientific and practical workshops, round tables and other forums and publishing the reported achievements;
- Organizing professional education and qualification of the employees in the field of tourism;
- Promoting the European Union legislation and experience in the field of health, spa and wellness tourism and related services;
- Presenting projects and proposals to the competent authorities for further improvement of the regulative basis in the field of health, spa and wellness tourism;
- Cooperation with the municipalities, local government authorities and local administration in terms of improvement of the existing assets and further development of health, spa and wellness tourism, and also for mineral waters and environmental protection;
- Promoting Association activity through Bulgarian and foreign mass media.
6. The Association carries out the following activities:
- Participation in the process of setting up of the state policy and provision of support for the implementation of this policy in the field of health, spa and wellness tourism;
- Protection of the interests of health, spa and wellness tourism in the process of establishment and implementation of the tax, investment, transport, communication policy and of the competition and environmental protection policy;
- Joint representation of the interests of health, spa and wellness tourism before the European Union institutions and other international institutions, promotion of country’s capabilities in the field of tourism;
- Initiation and/or participation in the process of development and consideration of strategies, opinions, proposals and drafts of amendment and supplementation of international and local regulative acts in the field of health, spa and wellness tourism;
- Provision of legal, tax procedure, land planning, methodological, statistical and other consultancy services to its members;
- Participation in arranging and holding of international, national and regional events in the field of health, spa and wellness tourism, including events related to national tourism advertising;
- Provision of consultancy and issuing expert assessments of the parameters and properties of mineral waters and of other natural resources, assistance and participation in implementation of research and development projects and facilitating their implementation in practice.