Geographical scope – The Black Sea Sustainable Tourism Observatory (BBSCO) covers the Bulgarian Black Sea coast within the two officially designated coastal tourism regions: Northern Black Sea Coast and Southern Black Sea Coast.
The Northern Black Sea Coast includes the coastal territories within Dobrich Region and Varna Region, while the Southern Black Sea Coast covers the coastal territories within Burgas Region.
Together, these regions encompass the main coastal municipalities, resort destinations, and adjacent hinterland areas functionally linked to tourism development. The geographical scope reflects the spatial concentration of tourism activities, seasonal population dynamics, and cumulative pressures on coastal, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems.
The Observatory applies a flexible analytical approach, enabling differentiated monitoring and assessment at destination, municipal, and regional levels in line with data availability and policy needs.
Focus areas – BBSCO monitors sustainable tourism development in accordance with the mandatory thematic areas of the UNWTO International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO). The thematic focus includes:
- Tourism seasonality;
- Employment;
- Destination economic benefits;
- Governance;
- Local satisfaction;
- Energy management;
- Water management;
- Solid waste management;
- Accessibility;
- Climate action.
Cross-cutting priorities – Across all thematic areas, the Observatory integrates cross-cutting priorities such as sustainability, resilience, climate responsiveness, institutional cooperation, data innovation, and stakeholder engagement.