Bulgaria recorded its strongest winter tourism season in 2025, emerging among the top performers in the European Union for growth in overnight stays during the first quarter of the year, official data showed Wednesday.
Between January and April, the number of registered tourists staying in accommodations with 10 or more beds exceeded 2 million, generating nearly 4.5 million overnight stays, according to Bulgaria’s National Statistical Institute (NSI). This marks a 6.4% year-on-year increase in tourist arrivals and a 4.5% rise in overnight stays compared with the same period in 2024.
Compared with the pre-pandemic year of 2019, overnight stays were up 23.7% for the same four-month period, the NSI said.
Eurostat figures for January to March 2025 showed a 3.9% increase in overnight stays compared to the first quarter of 2024, placing Bulgaria among the EU’s top ten countries in terms of growth in this category.
While growth rates remain an important indicator, the absolute number of nights spent by tourists is also a key measure. In terms of total overnight stays for Q1 2025, Bulgaria outpaced several Central and Eastern European countries known for ski, cultural, and other forms of tourism.
According to Eurostat data for January–March 2025:
- Bulgaria registered 3.4 million overnight stays
- Slovakia: nearly 3.2 million
- Serbia: 2.5 million
- Croatia: nearly 2.4 million
- Albania: 751,000
- North Macedonia: 314,000
- Montenegro: 289,000
Tourism is a key sector for Bulgaria’s economy, and the latest figures point to a continued recovery and expansion following the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.