site.btaTrips Abroad by Bulgarians Up 15% in October - Statistics

Trips abroad by Bulgarian citizens in October reached 829.3 thousand, or 15% more than in October 2024, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) reported here on Thursday. 

An increase was registered across all observed travel purposes. 

According to the statistics, the largest number of trips by Bulgarian citizens were to Turkiye – 233.6 thousand, Greece – 179.4 thousand, Serbia – 70 thousand, Romania – 69.4 thousand, Germany – 58 thousand, the Republic of North Macedonia – 29 thousand, Italy – 27.8 thousand, Austria – 25.3 thousand, the United Kingdom – 22.3 thousand, and Spain – 13.4 thousand. 

The largest share of all trips abroad by Bulgarian citizens were for holidays and excursions – 41%, followed by trips for other purposes – 40%, and business trips – 19%. 

The data show that in October, visits by foreign nationals to Bulgaria totaled 956.7 thousand, or 0.4% more compared to the same month last year. An increase was recorded in trips for holidays and excursions (up 3.4%) and business purposes (up 2%), while those for other purposes decreased by 2.5%. Transit crossings through the country accounted for 32.2% (308.5 thousand) of all visits by foreign nationals to Bulgaria. 

Citizens from the EU made up 54% of all foreign visitors, reaching 516.3 thousand, with the highest numbers coming from Romania – 36.3%, Greece – 22%, and Germany – 13.3%. 

Visits by citizens from the “Other European Countries” group (European countries outside the EU) totaled 361.9 thousand, or 37.8% of all visits. The largest number came from Turkiye  – 177.3 thousand, or 49% of visits in this group. 

Overall, the highest numbers of visits to Bulgaria were recorded from Romania – 187.5 thousand, Turkiye – 177.3 thousand, Greece – 113.7 thousand, Germany – 68.7 thousand, Ukraine – 67.2 thousand, Serbia – 56.8 thousand, the Republic of North Macedonia – 36.9 thousand, Poland – 23.1 thousand, Italy – 17.4 thousand, and France – 15.8 thousand. 

Most visits were for other purposes – 46.1%, followed by holidays and excursions – 38.5%, and business trips – 15.4%.