On the threshold of the snow season – will Bulgarian tourism surpass the levels of winter 2025

published on 10/17/25 11:15 AM

Photo: BTA

The tourism sector in Bulgaria has been growing in recent years, both in the summer and winter seasons. According to data from the relevant ministry, by the beginning of October, Bulgarian citizens who visited tourist destinations in the country were 1 million and 359 thousand, and foreigners who chose Bulgaria as a destination were 632 thousand people.

The growth is a fact, statistics show, but is the trend expected to continue?

"What we expect from the upcoming winter season is to maintain last year's levels with a slight increase of 2-3%. We are sticking to last year's numbers because what we are observing in the summer of 2025 is that tourism is gaining an increasingly sustainable framework, i.e. we see how the jumps from 2022-2023, after the pandemic, are already decreasing and turning from double-digit numbers into single-digit numbers. And the current situation in Europe makes us even more cautious in our estimates," commented Prof. Rumen Draganov, director of the Institute for Analysis and Evaluation in Tourism, to Radio Bulgaria.

Tourist bookings for the winter season to date are at last year's levels - so far there is a 25% occupancy rate in winter resorts, provided that the ski season traditionally starts only in mid-December, Draganov pointed out.

It is expected that over 2 million 200 thousand tourists will come to Bulgaria in the winter, with only 1/6 of the visits being related to ski tourism - the main tourist flow is related to other types of visits: to friends and relatives, business and cultural tourism, SPA, wellness and balneo-tourism, etc.

What is more, the Bulgarian tourist remains the most important link in the sector - for every foreigner, there are four Bulgarians using tourist services in Bulgaria. Speaking of foreign tourists, they are mostly from countries close to Bulgaria such as Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Turkey, EU countries, etc.

Asya Pandzherova, owner of a 5-star hotel in Bansko, the largest winter resort in Bulgaria, commented:

"We expect the trend to continue. Of course, we are talking about a future that is unpredictable, but the main thing I judge by is the interest in winter reservations and the Christmas and New Year holidays. And if last year the more intensive reservations started in the second half of October, this year this process started in early September. Which in itself speaks for an even more growing trend."

However, a big problem is the lack of personnel, which is a case in all economic spheres, but especially pronounced in the tourism industry, Ilin Dimitrov, Secretary to the President for Tourism, Education and Culture, as well as a former Acting Minister of Tourism, told Radio Bulgaria.

"The shortage of personnel is chronic and will worsen. Simple calculations show that for every 100 people leaving the labour market, 65 are replaced. And with this poor ratio, and with the growth of the hotel base by between 10 and 20 large complexes per year, I see no other solution than an aggressive state policy to attract personnel to the sector," said Dimitrov.

Photos: BTA, archive, bgtourism.bg

English publication: R. Petkova

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On the threshold of the snow season – will Bulgarian tourism surpass the levels of winter 2025

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