Second Stakeholder Event in Burgas, Bulgaria

The second Bulgarian stakeholder event of the DETOCS project, "Investments in RES - Opportunities & Challenges", was held on 20 February 2024 in Burgas. The event programme was centred on how investment projects in renewable energy sources (RES) could help the Burgas municipality on its way to a sustainable energy community with an environmentally responsible tourism sector.

Experts and representatives of public administrations and the tourism sector, NGOs, energy agencies, and SME associations discussed how investment projects in the field of renewable energy sources (RES) can help the Municipality of Burgas towards a sustainable energy society with an environmentally responsible tourism sector.

At the meeting, the Burgas Municipality presented the project progress, including:

• Best practices of green tourism projects from the study visit in Seinäjoki, Finland;
• SWOT and PESTEL analyses of the Bulgarian pilot region – Burgas Municipality;
• Results and main findings from the questionnaires distributed to Bulgarian stakeholders in regards to the SWOT and PESTEL analyses.

The attendees were also introduced to opportunities for financing SMEs for implementing measures to improve energy efficiency and reduce overall energy costs in their facilities, as well as the steps to obtain the international Green Key certificate — a leading standard for excellence in environmental responsibility and sustainable operations in the tourism sector.

The event initiated a public debate on the topic how RES projects could be deployed in the touristic sector, good practices in this area, stakeholder involvement, and what needs to be done at policy level.