The number of tourist visits to Bulgaria for the period from December 1, 2023 to March 25, 2024 has exceeded 1.8 million, the Ministry of Tourism said. The most significant increase (29.1%) for this period, compared to the same time last winter season, was recorded by Turkish guests in this country.

The number of Italian tourists mainly interested in urban tourism in Sofia has increased by 18.7%. The number of domestic tourists increased by 3%. Visits from Great Britain increased by 1%, from the Republic of North Macedonia by 4.6%, from Germany by 9.7%, and from Serbia by 10.7%.

There were fewer tourists from Romania and Greece in the last winter tourist season, but the most dramatic drop, of 62.6%, was recorded among Israeli tourists.

From the beginning of December 2023 to March 25, 2024, the most popular destination with 329,000 registered tourists was the municipality of Sofia, followed by the municipalities of Bansko, Velingrad, Samokov, Smolyan, Chepelare and Varna.

Bansko was the most visited ski resort in Bulgaria. Followed by Samokov (including Borovets), Smolyan and Chepelare. The largest number of bookings in all are made by domestic tourists.

Urban, cultural and business tourism were particularly important in this winter season. A total of seven municipalities - Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, Veliko Tarnovo, Ruse and Stara Zagora - attracted almost 35% of all tourists, according to the latest winter season data./BTA/