A record-high growth was registered in the tourism sector in Bulgaria in 2017.
The revenue in the sector for the year exceeded, the unprecedented amount of 8 billion leva. The revenue from foreign tourist spending grew by 9%, while that of Bulgarian tourists – by nearly 30%, compared to the previous year. Nearly 9 million foreign tourists visited Bulgaria for both leisure or business in 2017, an increase of 7%. The revenue from foreign tourists amounted to 6.89 billion leva throughout the year, while local tourist spending was 1.14 billion leva. The largest share of the tourism revenues as registered in the summer months, between May and September of 2017.
The tourist spending of Bulgarians traveling abroad remained relatively stable at 450 to 490 million leva.
The growth trend is expected to continue in 2018 due to the increase in flight availability with the expansion of low-cost airlines in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU and the economic growth in the Eurozone is at its fastest rate in a decade.
In January 2018 alone, Sofia Airport welcomed nearly half a million passengers, an increase of 6.6% over the same period in 2017. Two-thirds of the passengers came through Terminal 2 of Sofia Airport, and the rest – through Terminal 1, for the nearly 4 500 flights to and from the Airport.
