Mission Statement
Commercial Service Trade Mission
Tourism Infrastructure
Istanbul, Turkey ¨ Sofia, Bulgaria ¨ Zagreb, Croatia
September 26 - October 1, 2004

Mission Description:

The International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Export Promotion Services' Trade Mission Program will organize an Architecture, Construction and Engineering(ACE)/Infrastructure Trade Delegation to Istanbul, Turkey; Sofia, Bulgaria, and Zagreb, Croatia, September 26- October 1, 2004. This event will target all sectors of the architecture, construction, and engineering/infrastructure industries including participation by U.S. companies in real estate development and investment in upcoming tourism infrastructure projects.

Commercial Setting:

Turkey's stunning coastline, wealth of historical sites, and wide array of vacation and sports options beckon international travelers. Recession, political turmoil, sporadic security problems, and even earthquakes have adversely affected Turkey's tourism sector. Yet the sector has shown remarkable resilience. Further, Turkey's tourism sector is in need of significant infrastructure investments including wastewater treatment plants, roads, marinas, leading-edge planning for resort developments, as well as state-of-the-art management systems and services.

Spurred by a generally strong tourism industry and steady growth in Turkey's international trade volume, the government has kept modernization and expansion of the country's transportation infrastructure a top priority during the 1990s. Airports are being constructed and terminals upgraded to handle ever-growing passenger traffic, while several maritime ports are either under construction or being planned to relieve congestion around Turkey's industrial and commercial centers. Construction of motorways linking the country's principal cities and commercial hubs has been a government priority over the past decade.

Bulgaria offers political stability, strong economic growth and stability, strategic location, and low costs. While the Bulgarian economy is still in transition, both the U.S. and the EU have determined that the country has successfully transformed itself into a market economy. Bulgaria has been invited to join NATO in 2004 and expects to be a member of the European Union by 2007. Bulgarians are eager to have greater access to American goods and services and there are excellent opportunities for those companies willing to enter and develop this emerging market.

The tourist market in Bulgaria has been growing 10-15% annually for the past several years. As of 2002, the sector represented 13% of the country's GDP and employed almost 15% of the workforce. Germany represents almost half of the tourists, with the remainder coming from the U.K., Russia and other European countries. Currently, the market is concentrated at the Black Sea resorts in the summer and at the mountain ski resorts in the winter. However, Bulgaria seeks to develop a broader tourist industry based on its culture and scenic beauty. This includes mountain tourism, rural tourism, cultural tourism, and eco-tourism. In addition, the country hopes to shift a greater percentage of its tourist trade away from low revenue package tours and into more luxurious and upscale projects. Finally, Bulgaria hopes to become the Southeast Europe center for business and convention meetings. In order to promote these objectives, the Government of Bulgaria established a National Tourism Promotion and Information Agency in June 2003.
Croatia has a population of 4.5 million, which hosted 6.5 million foreign tourists last year who spent a total of about $3.3 billion enjoying over a thousand miles of coastline and over a thousand islands of this Mediterranean country. The 1991-1995 war that followed the dissolution of Yugoslavia, heavily affected Croatia's tourism sector. The country still suffers from devastated or underdeveloped tourism infrastructure, combined with a general lack of modern management and marketing skills. Croatia's tourism sector has enormous potential for growth once infrastructure improvements are undertaken and privatization is completed.

The Croatian government is well aware of this challenge and is undertaking programs including building and upgrading roads and airports, actively privatizing hotels by seeking foreign investors experienced in hotel management, facilitating plans for development of golf courses, giving tax relief's for foreign tour operators, incentives for investments, subsidies to air carriers, removing administrative barriers, etc.

Mission Scenario:

The trade mission will start in Turkey with two days of business meetings, before traveling to Sofia, Bulgaria. The participants will have two days of business meetings in Bulgaria. The mission will then travel to Zagreb, Croatia for one day of meetings. At each stop, the Foreign Commercial Service will provide an extensive market briefing, highlighting opportunities in the ACE/infrastructure sectors; schedule one-on-one appointments with potential business partners for each participant; and arrange a reception to introduce the participants to key business people in the industry.

Timetable:

Mission participants will arrive in Turkey, Sunday, September 26, where participants will have two days of business meetings (September 27-28). The mission will travel to Sofia, Bulgaria on September 29th for two days of business meetings (September 29-30), before it leaves for Zagreb, Croatia. The trade mission will have one day of business meetings in Croatia on Friday, October 1 and the trade mission will conclude that evening.

The trade mission will be promoted through the following venues: the Export Assistance Centers and Teams; the Federal Register; relevant trade publications; relevant trade associations; past Matchmaker and Commerce trade mission participants; various in-house and purchased industry lists, and on ITA's Internet home page.

Criteria for Participation:

• Relevance of the company's business line to mission goals
  
• Potential for business in the selected markets
  
• Time submission of the company's completed application and payment of the mission participation fee
  
• Provision of adequate information on the company's products and/or services and communication of the company's primary objectives to facilitate appropriate matching with potential business partners
  
• Certification that the company's products and/or services are manufactured or produced in the United States, or, if manufactured/produced outside of the United States, the product/service must be marketed under the name of a U.S. firm and have U.S. content representing at least 51 percent of the value of the finished good or service.

  Any partisan political activities of an applicant, including political contributions, will be entirely irrelevant to the selection process.

  Recruitment will begin immediately, and will close on July 30, 2004, approximately six weeks prior to the start of the mission. The Trade Mission will target 10 companies. Applications received after that date will be considered only if space and scheduling constraints permit.

  The participation fee for the event will be between $2,500 per company.

Contact Information:

Sam Dhir, Project Officer
Matchmaker Trade Delegations Program
U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 2012
Washington, D.C. 20230
Tel: (202) 482-4756/Fax: (202) 482-0178
Email: sam.dhir@mail.doc.gov

Website: http://www.usatrade.gov/matchmaker