Arrivals of foreigners in Bulgaria for holidays in January down 82.7% y/y
The number of arrivals of visitors from abroad in Bulgaria for holidays was down 82.7% per cent in January 2021 compared with January 2020, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said on February 26.
Visits by foreigners to Bulgaria in January for holidays accounted for just 18.6 per cent of the total, the NSI said, noting that the figures came against the background of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Citing information provided by the Interior Ministry, the NSI said that overall, the number of arrivals of visitors from abroad in Bulgaria in January was 60 per cent lower than in the first month of 2020.
The NSI said that there had been a “collapse” in all categories of arrivals.
Business trips by foreigners to Bulgaria were down by 57.4 per cent in January on an annual basis while visits with purposes categorised as “other” (including education, medical treatment and other purposes) were down 37 per cent.
The statistics agency said that transits through Bulgaria accounted for 50.1 per cent of all visits by foreigners to Bulgaria in January 2021.
Visits by citizens of other European Union countries made up 41.6 per cent of the total number of visits by foreigners to Bulgaria in January, a drop of 63.6 per cent compared with January 2020.
Visits by citizens of other EU countries all dropped, with the exception of visitors from the Czech Republic, where the figure was 1.5 per cent higher than in January 2020, the NSI said.
(Photo of Bansko: Lance Nelson of order.bg)
For the rest of The Sofia Globe’s continuing coverage of the Covid-19 situation in Bulgaria, please click here.
The Sofia Globe’s coverage of the Covid-19 situation in Bulgaria is supported by the Embassies of Switzerland and Finland.
Please support independent journalism by clicking on the orange button below. For as little as three euro a month or the equivalent in other currencies, you can support The Sofia Globe via patreon.com and get access to exclusive subscriber-only content:
Become a Patron!
