site.btaBurgas Reports 14% More Foreign Visitors in 2023, Significant Increase in Apartments for Short-Term Rental

 The Integrated Tourist Information System shows a significant increase in guest rooms and apartments for short-term rental in Burgas Municipality in 2023, said Radovesta Stewart, Head of Department Tourism at Burgas Municipality.  The number of beds in guest rooms and apartments in Burgas has increased from just over 8,000 in 2022 to over 12,000 in 2023.

According to the 2023 data, Burgas attracted 14% more foreign visitors than in 2022, which Stewart said was "a natural increase following the removal of COVID measures that hindered air travel". There were 544,000 overnight stays in the city, 4.8% more than in 2022.

Steward said that Burgas Municipality will focus its efforts on attracting even more foreign tourists during the upcoming summer season.

"2023 was a strong year for Burgas as far as the domestic market is concerned. The tourist tax that we collected without increasing the prices of accommodations is 8.2% more than in 2022," Stewart said.

She said that the Russian and Ukrainian tourist markets were ultimately lost and the many Ukrainians living in Bulgaria were not treated as tourists. 

Bourgas Airport data shows a 34% increase in passengers and a 28% increase in flights compared to 2022. Statistics, however, is skewed because it includes the total number of people served by the airport. She pointed out that if these figures were compared to 2016, there would be a decrease of 1 million people served by the airport.