Increase of 77% in the Number of Tourists in Sofia for the First Six Months of the Year

Sofia marks a 77% increase in the number of tourists for the first half of 2022 compared to the same period of 2021, deputy mayor of the “European policies, international activity and tourism” department Irina Savina announced. According to the data by the Unified Tourism System (UTS) of the Ministry of Tourism, foreign visitors grew up to 139% while visitors from Bulgaria marked 37% of growth, compared to the first half of 2021.

The number of foreign tourists is bigger than Bulgarian tourists. Foreign visitors are returning, with the most coming from Germany, Romania, Israel, Italy, the USA and Greece. Since the beginning of 2022, there has been an increased interest in Sofia as a tourist destination for UK citizens as well.

The average length of stay is 2.3 days, while the growth of overnight stays is 86%. For the first six months of the year, foreign tourists have the leading share with 62% of overnight tourists, against 38% for visitors from other Bulgarian cities. UTS data show a positive trend compared to the same period last year, when the share of Bulgarian tourists who stayed overnight was 51%, against 49% for foreign tourists.