Foreign visitors boost Bulgaria tourism

Revenue from overnight accommodation in Bulgaria increased in May by 20.6% to EUR 82.7 million year on year, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) reported on Friday. Revenue from foreign visitors amounted to EUR 42.6 million, while Bulgarian residents generated EUR 40.1 million.

NSI data show that in April, accommodation revenue rose by 12.3% year on year to EUR 57.8 million, of which EUR 37.8 million came from Bulgarian guests and EUR 20 million from foreign visitors, CE Report quotes BTA.

The overall bed occupancy rate in May stood at 21.1%, down by 0.9 percentage points compared with the same month of 2025. Occupancy was highest in four- and five-star accommodation establishments at 23.4%, followed by three-star establishments at 19.5% and one- and two-star establishments at 16.3%.

The total number of overnight stays increased by 2.5% year on year to 1,570,800. Bulgarian residents accounted for 799,300 overnight stays, while foreign visitors accounted for 771,500.

In May 2026, Bulgaria had 2,648 accommodation establishments with 10 or more beds in operation, including hotels, motels, campsites, mountain lodges and other short-stay accommodation facilities. They offered a total of 109,100 rooms and 243,900 beds. Compared with May 2025, the number of accommodation establishments decreased by 0.4%, while bed capacity increased by 2.9%.

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