A summary presentation in four panels:
1. Establishment of the NPA “Fund for the Development of Plovdiv Airport – The Southern Gate of Bulgaria”
The Association was founded by three municipalities – Rodopi Municipality, Hisarya Municipality, and Asenovgrad Municipality in the distant 2010.
Goals of the Association:
– Development of civil society and raising the quality of life of the residents of the city of Plovdiv, the South-Central region, and the neighboring areas by financial and logistical support for initiatives and undertakings in the following fields: tourism development through support and promotion of local culture, spiritual and historical heritage, environmental protection and preservation of cultural monuments, development of the economic and transport infrastructure of the region.
– Improvement of the investment environment and attraction of foreign and Bulgarian investors in the development of large important for the development of tourism sites.
– Increasing the competitiveness of local business in the city of Plovdiv and the entire South-Central region, and providing financial and logistical support for initiatives and undertakings in the field of the application of new and advanced technologies in the economy of the region, and the development of modern transport infrastructure.
– Initiating collaboration between all stakeholders to identify and address the ever-changing needs of the South-Central region local economy.
– Ensuring accessible and favorable urban environment for guests and residents of the city of Plovdiv and other cities in the region.
Means of achieving the goals:
– subsidizing the maintenance of regular air routes from/to Plovdiv Airport. For that purpose the Association with the assistance of “Plovdiv Airport" EAD, in its capacity of an official consultant, will negotiate directly or will announce tenders, but not under the Civil Aviation Act, for the desired routes from/to Plovdiv, and the number of flights on a weekly basis.
– financial support for publications in the country and abroad promoting tourist sites and the culture, history, and spirit of the region.
– financial support for organizing advertising campaigns in foreign countries.
– financial support for the development of transport connections in the South-Central region.
Fundraising:
– The members of the Association make a mandatory annual contribution to achieve the goals of the Association in an amount of no less than the number of the population of the respective municipality according to the national database multiplied by BGN 1.00 (one) by the first day of May of each calendar year.
2. Development and results
After its foundation, the idea of the Association gained strong popularity and by 2015 the members of the Association gradually increased to eleven municipalities, including Plovdiv, and the statute of the Association provided the option for participation of companies in addition to municipalities – which was the initial idea of the founders in 2010. Thanks to the intensive joint work of the Airport and the Fund in 2010 the first contract in the Airport's history for permanent year-round flights with RYANAIR was executed. Initially, the airline operations started with only one destination – London, and over the years RYANAIR has diversified this approach and saturated the Airport with more destinations. It is important to note that since the start of the contract with RYANAIR in 2010 the airline has never stopped operations to/from Plovdiv Airport, which appeared as a secure and evident guarantee for WIZZAIR, which also started permanent year-round air routes to/from Plovdiv Airport in 2021. Thanks to these two airlines, for the first time in its history, Plovdiv Airport handles 14 flights a week to four European destinations in 2022 and it is expected the number of passengers travelling through Plovdiv Airport to increase each year.
Since 2015, the activities of the Fund have gradually decreased and the initial impetus of development ideas has weakened due to various factors, including the fact that several municipalities suspend their membership from the Association. The re-registration of the NPA "Fund for the Development of Plovdiv Airport - Southern Gate of Bulgaria" in the Commercial register and register of non-profit legal entities was completed and in a legal aspect its activities have been restored. The governing body of the Fund includes: the Municipality of Rodopi, the Municipality of Plovdiv and the Municipality of Chepelare, which manage the annual contributions of another eight municipalities, in addition to the ones listed. These are the municipalities of Kaloyanovo, Sopot, Kuklen, Sadovo and Parvomai.
3. Current situation
"Fund for the development of Plovdiv Airport - the Southern Gate of Bulgaria" begins to expand its activities from 2023. With the accession of 5 new members - the municipalities of Hisarya, Saedinenie, Brezovo, Perushtitsa and Smolyan, and the existing ones - Plovdiv, Rodopi, Chepelare, Sopot, Kaloyanovo, Kuklen and Sadovo, the Fund grew up to 12 municipalities and 3 legal entities - Pamporovo JSC, Grand Hotel Plovdiv, NPA "Fund Fenix".