site.btaTourist Summer 2025: Probably the Last One before the Euro Changeover

This will probably be the last summer in Bulgaria when seaside holiday prices will still be denominated in the national currency as the country expects to join the euro area next year. The cost of accommodation for a five-day family holiday by the Black Sea is likely to average around BGN 200 per room per night, transport costs can total approximately BGN 300, a rented beach umbrella can come at a daily price of BGN 10, and a typical dinner for two, with a bottle of wine, at a decent restaurant would cost BGN 87. What will happen in the first “euro summer” is hard to predict, but it cannot be more expensive than Summer 2025, according to Rumen Draganov, Director of the Institute for Analysis and Assessment in Tourism. He was interviewed by BTA ahead of the official start of the national summer tourist season, which will be announced in Pomorie on May 31.

The government expects that Bulgaria’s preparedness to join the euro area will be assessed in early June. If the country is found to meet the requirements, it can become a member on January 1, 2026.

Draganov said that, in fact, 2025 is just another year in which Bulgarian tourism companies conclude their contracts with euro-area partners in euro. The currency changeover will not change the prices of tourist services here, he noted. “Larger payments by foreigners in Bulgaria during their holidays involve the use of credit cards, so foreign guests will be very relieved when there will be no more currency conversion and the bank costs that come with it,” the expert said.

He noted that this will be another summer of war raging close to Bulgaria, but practice of the last few years shows that holiday-makers continue to come here. In 2024, visits from foreign countries to Bulgaria increased by about 600,000 compared with the pre-pandemic year 2019. And now, 2025 is expected to see a further increase in foreigners’ visits by between 4% and 4.5% compared with 2024. Forecasts are that their number will reach 13.8 million.

For yet another year, the season is beginning with disturbing reports about environmental issues in or by the sea. This time, some of the reports are related to the aftermath of the Kerch Strait oil spill in December 2024, when two Russian oil tankers were caught in a storm. In addition, oil slicks were observed this spring off the Bulgarian Black Sea resorts of Pomorie and Sozopol, but they were eventually removed. “There is always some anxiety about the purity of seawater at the beginning of the season, but the concern is dispelled later,” Draganov said. He does not foresee any risk of seawater pollution along the Bulgarian coastline.

A new government ordinance on lifeguard service, postponed in 2024, will enter into force this summer. The ordinance provides for more lifeguards and more medical staff in local beach resorts. It ensures better protection of swimmers’ lives, Draganov said, noting that, so far, between 45 and 49 people drown in the sea annually in Bulgaria. In addition to having more lifeguards on beaches, there will be more ambulances and medical crews, according to him.

Over 8 million foreigners are expected to visit Bulgaria between May and September 2025, and 5.5 million of them will go to seaside resorts. In the meantime, Bulgarians are forecast to make 9 million visits to their country’s seacoast, Draganov said.

The local tourism industry expects BGN 16 billion in revenues throughout the year, half of them to be earned during the summer, with the revenue growth reported in 2024 and 2023 compared with the pre-pandemic year 2019 continuing into 2025. The expert noted that the revenue increase in 2024 and 2023 was largely due to inflation.

According to him, the big battle is to restore Germany, as a source market for Bulgaria travel, to its earlier size, and to expand the British source market. Central Europe (Poland, Slovakia) is also contributing to an overall rise.

Romania will remain the leading source of visits to Bulgaria, partly because of the large numbers of Romanians transiting this country on their way to Greece and Turkiye. Turks and Greeks are in the uppermost part of the table in terms of annual visits to Bulgaria, with summer trips being most intensive. Visits from Greece total approximately 1.2 million a year, including 700,000 between May and September. The data about Turkiye is not very different, Draganov said.

The summer tourist season in Bulgaria is getting longer, he said. In part, this is due to the prolonged and more intensive heat associated with climate change, which leads European tourists to choose Bulgaria over other destinations further south.