Summer Comes Early to Bulgaria with The Tourist Industry Booming

The Bulgarian press this week reported healthy growth in the tourism sector, with the summer season kicking off a month and a half earlier than in previous years.

Official estimates forecast a 6.4% rise in the number of foreign tourists coming to Bulgaria this summer year upon year, mainly thanks to the great interest shown by Russian tourists. The summer season for all tourists in Bulgaria kicked off on April 20, with the head of the State Tourism Agency, Aneliya Krushkova, stating, "This is the first time ever that the summer season is given the go-ahead that early". Krushkova expanded by saying that the Bulgarian tourist industry is set to record a boost in revenues this year, largely due to the higher number of Russian tourists visiting the country. The Bulgarian Industry Centre in Moscow has been actively campaigning to promote Bulgaria’s tourist attractions and it seems this is starting to pay off.

The interest in Bulgaria as a tourist destination is evidently growing and experts predict this trend will persist over the coming years. Countries neighbouring Bulgaria are among those showing interest: the State Agency for Tourism found that 30,000 Romanians visited Bulgaria during Easter this year. Bulgaria’s recent accession into the EU has meant that travelling between countries has been simplified, with Romanians and Greeks being able to enter the country with ID cards only. It is also easier for Serbians, Turks and Macedonians to acquire visas for Bulgaria.