site.btaIn Q4 of 2023, Bulgarians Made Fewer Tourist Trips than Four Years Ago

The number of tourist trips made by Bulgarians in the fourth quarter of 2023 went down quarter-on-quarter. However, there has been a rise in the figures on an annual basis, but they are still below the pre-pandemic 2019 level, according to the National Statistical Institute (NSI).

In the fourth quarter of 2023, 1,165,500 Bulgarian residents made tourist trips, according to preliminary NSI data released on Friday. The majority of them, 78.5%, travelled only in Bulgaria, 18.2% only abroad, and 3.3% both in the country and abroad. Compared with the same quarter of 2022, the total number of people aged 15 and over who travelled increased by 13.5%.

In the third quarter of 2023, 1,822,300 Bulgarian citizens made tourist trips. The share of domestic trips stood at 72.5%. A total of 20.7% travelled only abroad, and 6.8% travelled both domestically and abroad. The total number of travellers aged 15 and over went up by 4.2% year-on-year.

In the fourth quarter of 2019, 1,302,500 Bulgarians made tourist trips. Of them, 81.1% travelled only domestically, 17.1% travelled only abroad, and 1.8% made trips both domestically and abroad. Compared to the same quarter in 2018, the total number of people aged 15 and over who travelled increased by 18.9%.