Eng. Ivo Tsarev, Chairman of Regional Industrial Association - Smolyan
RSC-Smolyan is the first registered non-profit association in the region, established in 1982 and representing an association of companies from the Smolyan region, with the main task to protect the interests of employers at the regional level. RSC-Smolyan is a collective member of the Bulgarian Industrial Association and is part of its network in the country. Its members are manufacturing and trade companies and those in the service sector from Smolyan and all ten district municipalities. In the district, RSC-Smolyan is mandated to represent and defend employers' and industrial interests at the local level and is employers' representative organization.
What are the main business problems in the area?
To achieve economic growth in the country, we cannot rely only on the EU funds that the government has invested in large infrastructure projects. We need incentives for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises - for modernization and technological renewal by applying for facilitated procedures, incentives for modern start-ups, hiring unemployed young people, easy access to cheap financing, tax breaks, etc.
The region of Smolyan is one of the lеаst developed in the country in terms of economic development, due to many factors - the only transport options are cars, the mountainous terrain, poor infrastructure and connectivity, demographic problems, the ageing population and many others. Due to lacking skilled labour, one of the largest well-performing companies in the city (with over 800 staff with a tendency to increase their number) was shut down and moved to another area.
How does RSC-Smolyan help to solve them?
As the representative body of employers, we aim to help solve the problems businesses face in the region. The main problem is unemployment and the adverse demographics of depopulation in the area. Every year the population decreases by about 2%, which will not overcome for years. Unfortunately, at a national level, demographic problems are only discussed without taking action.
As an example, the excessive number of sick leaves in the region leads to a disruption in companies' production processes. Together with the other employers' organizations, we have organized meetings to resolve these problems, inviting representatives of the regional government bodies. Another point is the three days of employer-provided sick leave introduced in 2010 as a temporary anti-crisis measure, which has now become permanent.
We try as much as we can to be closer to local businesses and their problems. They are primarily micro and small enterprises, and we organize forums and meetings to help them look for markets and partners. For example, at the end of September this year, we are organizing a business forum with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry from Adrianople, Turkey, and other employers' organizations.
How is tourism developing?
The tourism sector is key to Bulgaria's economy and crucial for Smolyan's region. Before the pandemic, tourism contributed between BGN 12 and BGN 14 billion to Bulgaria's GDP, and we should pursue a policy next year to reach the pre-pandemic levels.
Of course, speaking of tourism in the region, the impact of the pandemic is a serious factor that has influenced its development. Our joint efforts with the tourism industry aim to develop the Rhodopes as a four-season destination with services based both on tradition and on innovative diversifications gaining popularity in other well-developed tourist regions. Key to the development of tourism is the accompanying infrastructure and the condition of the resorts, and the promotion of tourist destinations in the media, including social networks. In addition, the long-awaited opening of the Rudozem-Ksanti BCP and the widening of the main road between Smolyan and Plovdiv will contribute to the development of tourism and all other areas.
The tourism business in Smolyan is worried about the current and worsening staffing in the sector related to the poor educational infrastructure in the region. In addition, there is no funding available for the tourist area management organizations that ought to help increase the sector's competitiveness.
For the winter season 2020/2021, the decrease of tourists in the Smolyan region is almost 60%. The decline of Bulgarian guests is nearly half and of foreign guests - over 90%, the few foreigners are mostly Romanian citizens. 95% of tourists in the which should remain as a trend. Measures to preserve employment in tourism and transport in a pandemic and actions in the tour operator and travel agent sectors have been insufficient.
The summer season is significantly better than the winter season, but again the industry's concerns are related to the upcoming 4th wave of the pandemic and, more precisely - the measures in support of the industry in the event of a possible lockdown of tourist businesses.
What do you have planned for the rest of the year?
In the next four months, we conclude our activities on two projects - "Wild Life for Ever" and "SCOPE". Both projects are aimed at supporting businesses.
The project "WILD LIFE FOR EVER" is implemented by several Bulgarian and Greek partners under the INTERREG V-A "Greece-Bulgaria 2014-2020" Cross-border Cooperation Programme and is in the field of biodiversity conservation. As a business association, we are responsible for the business aspects of this conservation - we will stimulate local companies on both sides of the border to be responsible for nature conservation. We will award the best of them with a special "Quality Label" award; the standards for this award have been developed together with a Greek partner (the Chamber of Commerce of Greece).
The other project, "SCOPE", with partners from Greece, Bulgaria and Albania, is funded under the Balkans-Mediterranean Programme 2014-2020 and aims to develop an innovative web-based platform to facilitate shared services for road freight transport, effectively linking national and transnational freight forwarding and transport operations. It also aims to increase territorial competitiveness and sustainability, thus contributing to a more efficient business environment in the Balkan-Mediterranean region.
The latest project of the RSC- Smolyan is prepared jointly with the Industrial Association of Xanthi, Greece, with which we have traditional cooperation in promoting business relations between Greek and Bulgarian entrepreneurs. The associations of handicrafts of the two cities are also involved in the project. The project aims to support local companies in manufacturing and services through training, preparation and participation in local exhibitions, including a joint Bulgarian-Greek exhibition in Xanthi. The promotion of goods and services through exhibitions is strictly limited in the two border regions and should stimulate the rise and expansion of the participants' production. It also envisages providing suitable infrastructure for these exhibitions. The project has the acronym "FAIR FOR ALL" and will be financed under the INTERREG V-A "Greece-Bulgaria 2014-2020" Cross-Border Cooperation Programme, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and national co-financing from Greece and Bulgaria. I want to note that the projects financed by the programme, in one way or another, through the various priorities, contribute to the development of the border area - one example is the implementation of the CrossBo project for the opening of the new border crossing point Rudozem - Xanthi, which will facilitate and improve transport, and business relations between companies from Bulgaria and Greece.
