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Bulgaria sees 5% growth in foreign tourists this year

Photo: Ani Petrova, BNR

Since the beginning of the year, 10.7 million foreigners have visited Bulgaria, Rumen Draganov, director of the Institute for Analyses and Evaluations in Tourism, told BNR. This represents a 5% increase over last year.


According to Rumen Draganov, 2024 is shaping up to be the strongest year since the coronavirus pandemic. Revenues are up by nearly 25% compared to 2019, and tourism is expected to contribute 7 percent to the country's GDP (about BGN 14 billion).

Cultural tourism has a significant contribution to the good results this year, as well as weekend trips and the presence of a second home in Bulgaria.

About 360,000 trips were registered around the holidays of September 6 and 22.

"We saw about 190,000 trips by Bulgarians in Bulgaria and about 55,000 trips abroad. At the same time, we currently have over 100,000 foreign visitors in Bulgaria," said Rumen Draganov. According to him, the month will end with about 1.2 million foreign visitors, which is an increase of 5.8% compared to the previous year.

In winter, Rumen Draganov expects nearly 3.3 million foreigners to enter Bulgaria not only for skiing, but also for cultural and spa tourism.

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