Tourist arrivals in Bulgaria rose 6.9% year-on-year to 790.3 thousand in January 2026 from 739.0 thousand a year earlier, with growth recorded across all travel purposes. Visits for holiday and recreation totaled 307.2 thousand, professional trips 111.0 thousand, and other purposes 372.1 thousand. EU citizens accounted for 54.2% of total arrivals, led by Romania (37.6%) and Greece (31.2%), followed by Germany (4.1%), Italy (3.9%), and Austria (3.2%). Visitors from other European countries represented 37.2% of total arrivals, with Turkey leading the group at 49.3%, followed by Serbia (18.1%), North Macedonia (19.0%), and Russia (1.6%). Transit passes made up 27.5% of all visits. source: National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria

Tourist Arrivals in Bulgaria decreased to 790342 in January from 888425 in December of 2025. Tourist Arrivals in Bulgaria averaged 863893.08 from 1991 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 3531567.00 in December of 2003 and a record low of 81153.00 in April of 2020. This page provides - Bulgaria Tourist Arrivals - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. Bulgaria Tourist Arrivals - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on February of 2026.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-01-27 09:00 AM
Tourist Arrivals YoY
Dec 6.6% 2.9% 3.5%
2026-02-27 09:00 AM
Tourist Arrivals YoY
Jan 6.9% 6.6% 7.0%
2026-03-30 09:00 AM
Tourist Arrivals YoY
Feb 6.9%


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Balance of Trade -2909.10 -2541.50 BGN Million Dec 2025
Capital Flows 1975.40 -762.70 EUR Million Dec 2025
Current Account -1409.50 -1312.40 EUR Million Dec 2025
Current Account to GDP -1.00 -0.30 percent of GDP Dec 2024
Exports 6736.40 6971.80 BGN Million Dec 2025
Exports by Category
Exports by Country
External Debt 54258.60 53578.10 EUR Million Nov 2025
Foreign Direct Investment 383.20 485.40 EUR Million Dec 2025
Gold Reserves 42.93 42.93 Tonnes Dec 2025
Imports 9645.50 9513.30 BGN Million Dec 2025
Imports by Category
Imports by Country
Natural Gas Imports 0.00 78363.48 Terajoule Jan 2026
Remittances 108.40 99.30 EUR Million Dec 2025
Terrorism Index 0.00 0.00 Points Dec 2024
Tourist Arrivals YoY 790342.00 888425.00 Jan 2026
Weapons Sales 14.00 19.00 SIPRI TIV Million Dec 2024


Bulgaria Tourist Arrivals
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
790342.00 888425.00 3531567.00 81153.00 1991 - 2026 Monthly
NSA

News Stream
Bulgaria Tourist Arrivals Up 6.9% in January
Tourist arrivals in Bulgaria rose 6.9% year-on-year to 790.3 thousand in January 2026 from 739.0 thousand a year earlier, with growth recorded across all travel purposes. Visits for holiday and recreation totaled 307.2 thousand, professional trips 111.0 thousand, and other purposes 372.1 thousand. EU citizens accounted for 54.2% of total arrivals, led by Romania (37.6%) and Greece (31.2%), followed by Germany (4.1%), Italy (3.9%), and Austria (3.2%). Visitors from other European countries represented 37.2% of total arrivals, with Turkey leading the group at 49.3%, followed by Serbia (18.1%), North Macedonia (19.0%), and Russia (1.6%). Transit passes made up 27.5% of all visits.
2026-02-27
Bulgaria Tourist Arrivals Rise 6.6% in December
Tourist arrivals in Bulgaria increased by 6.6% year-on-year to 888.4 thousand in December 2025, accelerating from a 2.9% rise in the previous month and marking the strongest gain since June 2024. Growth was recorded across all travel purposes, including trips for holiday and recreation, which rose by 33.9%, followed by professional travel, up 14.7%.Visitors from the European Union accounted for 56% of total arrivals, with the largest shares coming from Romania (34.2%) and Greece (29.1%), followed by Germany (10.1%), Italy (5.3%), and Austria (3.8%). Arrivals from other European countries represented 37.4% of the total, driven primarily by tourists from Turkey (52.6%), Serbia (16.6%), Ukraine (13.2%), and North Macedonia (12.1%).
2026-01-27
Bulgaria Tourist Arrivals Rise 2.9% in November
The number of tourist arrivals in Bulgaria rose by 2.9% year-on-year to 732.8 thousand in November 2025, following a 0.4% growth in October. An increase in the trips with all observed purposes was registered, with other purposes accounting for the largest share (49.4%), followed by holiday and recreation purposes (31.1%), and professional purposes (19.5%). Visitors from the EU accounted 49.8% of total visits to Bulgaria, reaching 365.1 thousand, led by Romania (43.4%), Greece (25.4%), Germany (7.60%), and Italy (4.94%). Meanwhile, travelers from other European countries represented 42.4% of the total, reaching 310.7 thousand, mainly coming from Turkey (52.3%), followed by Serbia (18.9%), Ukraine (15%), and Macedonia (9.6%).
2025-12-29