Rumen Draganov

As the Orthodox Easter coincides with May this year, Bulgaria is gearing up for an unprecedented surge in travel, predicts Rumen Draganov, director of the Institute for Analysis and Forecasting of the Information Environment in Tourism, in an interview with BTA.

Bulgaria's winter tourism season has surpassed expectations, with a remarkable 25% increase in foreign visitors compared to initial projections. According to Prof. Rumen Draganov, director of the Institute for Analyzes and Evaluations in Tourism, the country welcomed over 2.1 million tourists from abroad during the winter season, significantly exceeding the anticipated 1.7 million visits.

30% more bookings compared to last year at this time, revenue is up 50%. This is what the figures of the Institute for Analyzes and Evaluations in Tourism show, said the director of the department, Prof. Rumen Draganov. He presented more data: Between 4 and 8% is the average growth compared to 2019. 13 million people are expected to visit Bugaria in 2023.

3,800,000 Bulgarians are expected to travel abroad in the period from May to September. At the same time, around 14 million trips by Bulgarians within the country are expected for the period, predicts Rumen Draganov, director of the Institute for Assessments and Analyzes in Tourism.

"Compared to last year, more than 1.5 million more foreigners are expected to visit Bulgaria", Rumen Draganov, director of the Institute for Analysis and Evaluation in Tourism, told BNR. He added that "there is about 100% plus increase" of Bulgarians traveling abroad.

"About 50,000 Russian citizens are expected to come to Bulgaria this year with flights via Istanbul, Dubai and Belgrade, some of them with properties in Bulgaria", predicts Assoc. Prof. Rumen Draganov, a longtime expert in the field of tourism and a teacher.

Twice as many foreign tourists and higher prices for the upcoming holidays. These are the forecasts of experts in the tourism industry. About half a million people will be able to afford a holiday in Bulgaria, and about 60,000 abroad. Despite the measures, there are already resorts where all places are occupied.

There is a great interest in Bulgaria. We have twice as many tourists as last year, but now the winter season is even happier, as flights to and from the UK and Russia, where there is even more interest, will be resumed. Bulgaria remains competitive. This was commented to BNT by Rumen Draganov, director of the Institute for Tourism Assessment and Analysis.

"The newly approved green passports for travel inside the EU, which Brussels is trying to thrust upon us, is a blow below the belt to Bulgarian tourism. With this restriction, the doors to Russian tourists will be closed, Prof. Rumen Draganov,head of the Institute for Analysis and Assessment in Tourism, said for This Morning talk show on bTV.

"If the lockdown remains until the end of January, we expect the government to take a decision and allocate BGN 100 million to cover the damage inflicted to tourism by the end of January, because as yesterday the government made a very good decision to help tour operators with BGN 56 million, now it is good time to make a decision for hoteliers and restaurateurs as well, "said for "Before All"