On 3 December 2025, Anton Penev, Director of Visit Sofia, took part in Tourism Week at New Bulgarian University (NBU) as a guest lecturer in the seminar “Experiences Through Specialised Forms of Tourism in Sofia.”
During his lecture, Anton Penev introduced students to the key principles and approaches involved in managing Sofia as a tourism destination. He presented the process of developing new tourism products and outlined the city’s priority segments, including cultural tourism, city breaks, MICE, gastronomy, sports, thematic and festival tourism.
Special attention was given to creating value for different target audiences, including international visitors, urban nomads, digital professionals, business travellers and local residents.
Penev emphasised that tourism product development is not simply a marketing process, but requires an analytical, strategic and multidisciplinary approach, together with active cooperation between the municipality, the tourism industry and the local community.
The session also presented examples of successful partnerships, event initiatives, marketing campaigns and innovative solutions that contribute to strengthening Sofia’s international visibility as a tourism destination.
Students were introduced to real-world practices, key performance indicators (KPIs) used in destination management and opportunities for professional development within Visit Sofia.
The initiative highlighted the importance of practical education for future tourism professionals and the value of sustainable cooperation between academia and the tourism sector in supporting the development of modern urban tourism in Sofia.
