site.btaNearly 92% More Bulgarians Vacation at Home and Abroad in Q2

A total of 1,172,400 Bulgarians vacationed in the second quarter of the year, with 79.2% of them preferring to vacation in Bulgaria, 16.7% travelled abroad, and only 4.1% had the opportunity to combine a vacation both in Bulgaria and abroad, indicated survey data published on Thursday by the National Statistical Institute (NSI). The total number of vacationers over the age of 15 increased by 8.9% compared to the same quarter of 2022, the department also reported.

People between the ages of 45 and 64 made up the largest share of tourists, totaling 476,300, 40.6% of all travellers in the three-month period. Most Bulgarians over the age of 65 (85.4%) vacationed in the country, while most people aged 25-44 chose to vacation abroad (20%).

Some 72% of respondents who travelled abroad and 45.9% of those who travelled in Bulgaria indicated that the purpose of the trip was "rest and excursion".

A total of 89.1 percent of all respondents (which is equal to 1,429,700 Bulgarians) said that they travelled for personal reasons, which means visiting cultural events, playing sports, treatment, training, religious events, visiting relatives and friends and others. Some 93.6% of the respondents rested without a prior reservation in the country, and 64.5% went abroad without a reservation.

The average expenditure for a personal trip per person was BGN 226.21 in the country and BGN 822.44 abroad. The expenses per person for a professional trip were on average BGN 263.79 in the country and BGN 1,203.39 abroad, shows the NSI report.

The statistical survey of tourist trips and tourism expenditure of the population was carried out in accordance with the 2012 Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning European statistics on tourism, and, respectively European Commission regulations on its implementation.