site.btaTwo-thirds of Bulgarians Plan Winter Holiday in Mountains, Prefer Digital Payments, Survey Shows

Two-thirds of Bulgarians plan to spend their winter holidays in the mountains, according to a survey by the card and digital payments company Visa, the results of which were released on Tuesday. The majority of Bulgarians (63%) planning a holiday this winter prefer to pay by card, smartphone or smartwatch. Eight out of ten Bulgarians plan to spend up to BGN 1,000 per day per person during their holiday.

Almost all respondents (92%) plan to spend their winter holidays at home. Among those who intend to travel abroad, the most preferred destinations are Italy and Austria. Bulgarians attach great importance to comfort and safety during their holidays.

The data confirms that the lack of digital payments at ski resorts would lead a significant proportion of customers not to return to the same place (15%), to reduce their spending (14%) or to prefer a competing resort (11%). As many as 61% of Bulgarians prefer to visit the slopes without a wallet, using only a mobile phone or smartwatch. The most common digital payments are for accommodation (31%), restaurants and bars (%) and shopping in stores (15%).

Respondents most often expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of ability to pay with a card for parking (38%), in stores (25%) and in restaurants and bars (24%). At the same time, digital payment for ski passes was highly rated, with only 14% of respondents experiencing difficulties.

In addition to Bulgarians, many Romanians and Slovaks are also planning winter holidays. According to the survey, 4% of Bulgarians intend to visit Italy and 3% are planning a trip to Austria. Most foreign tourists to Bulgarian resorts are expected from Romania (5%) and Poland (2%).

The data was collected by Response Now s.r.o. in December 2024 through a representative sample of internet users in Bulgaria aged between 18 and 60. The total number of respondents was 1,028.