site.btaOver 190,000 Tourists Visited Bansko This Winter

More than 190,000 tourists visited Bansko in the winter season, according to a report of Bansko Municipality, provided to BTA. From the beginning of December to April 15 - a day after the official end of the season, the mountain resort was visited by tourists from Bulgaria, neighbouring Balkan countries, various European countries, and the United States.

Data shows that the number of overnight stays during the winter season was over 656,000. A comparison with the previous winter season shows that the number of tourists visiting Bansko was just over 225,000, or about 35,000 more, and the number of overnight stays was almost 51,000 more. Compared to the 2021-2022 season however the past winter season is already stronger in terms of number of tourists, around 188,000. The number of overnight stays in the 2021-2022 season exceeded the number of overnight stays in the current season by around 30,000.

This winter, the mountain resort was visited mainly by Bulgarian tourists – 163,250 in total, who made more than 101,000 overnight stays. More than 20,000 Greek tourists visited Bansko this winter, with 48,582 overnight stays. Tourists from Romania were nearly 18,000 and from the UK - just over 18,200.

The chairman of the Tourist Business Union of Bansko region Malin Bistrin in an interview for BTA described the winter season as good. "It was successful, really difficult and challenging, but tourism cannot be easy, we have accepted it that way, we are fighting the difficulties, especially after COVID-19," Bistrin said.

According to him, political events around the country and the proximity of two wars affect major markets - Ukrainian, Russian and Israeli. “These markets are extremely important to us, we have been working in them for many years,” Bistrin commented.

Data provided by Bansko Municipality shows that the number of Israeli tourists this winter season was nearly 9,000 with more than 38,000 overnight stays. In comparison, in the winter season 2022-2023, the number of tourists from Israel was about 19,000 and the number of nights spent was 85,639.

“Our guests this year were traditionally markets in which we do well. These are the UK, the Balkan countries, of course the Bulgarians are the most important for us, and I have always stressed this because they are our most sustainable market. A few years ago we looked to Central Europe, guests came from these countries, so tourism is a business with a long perspective for us and we know it," he added.

Expectations for the summer season in Bansko are optimistic given the good cooperation with the Municipality, and the traditionally rich cultural programme with many events and activities, according to Bistrin.