site.btaBulgarian Residents' Trips Abroad Up 4.2%, Non-residents' Visits to Bulgaria Up 6.9% in Jan. 2026, Y/Y

In January 2026, the trips of Bulgarian residents abroad numbered 625,900, or 4.2% more than those registered in January 2025. An increase in the trips with all purposes observed was registered, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) reported on Friday, citing preliminary data.

In January 2026, most trips of Bulgarian residents were made to Turkiye (146,100), Greece (140,900), Romania (64,100), Serbia (51,000), Germany (34,000), Austria (23,600), North Macedonia (23,100), Italy (19,600), the UK (18,200) and Spain (17,700).

In January 2026, the visits by non-residents to Bulgaria numbered 790,300, or 6.9% more than in January 2025. An increase in the trips with all observed purposes was registered. At 217,400, transit passes through the country accounted for 27.5% of all visits by non-residents to Bulgaria.

In January 2026, most visits by non-resident to Bulgaria were from Romania (161,200), Turkiye (145,100), Greece (133,800), North Macedonia (55,500), Serbia (53,500), Germany (28,800), Austria (22,400), Israel (19,300), the UK (17,300), and Italy (16,100).

A search of the NSI database shows that Bulgarian residents' trips abroad numbered 600,400 in January 2025, up 11.7% compared to January 2024, whereas non-residents' visits to Bulgaria numbered 739,000 in January 2025, or 0.3% less than in January 2024.