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Countries / Europe / Bulgaria

Bulgaria tourism statistics

Bulgaria, 789,944 arrivals in July

Monthly arrivals, nights, spend since 1990, with 1 worked statistics. Latest 2026-07, 3 months behind.

-5.4%vs Jul 2025
2.2mYear to date
1990Figures since
3 moBehind
Where Bulgaria stands, July 2026

Bulgaria's July arrivals slip back from a record peak

Bulgaria recorded 789,944 arrivals in July 2026, down 5.4% on July 2025 and at 97.2% of the same month in 2019. The result was the second consecutive month below the level of a year earlier, having last been higher for this calendar month in 2025. July nonetheless sat 46.3% above the average of the three years before, and remained short of the record high of 918,827 set in August 2025.

Recent months showed an uneven pattern. February 2026 stood at 153,109, down 0.9% on a year but at 120.1% of 2019, and May 2026 reached 274,214, up 9.3% on a year and 99.3% of 2019. The picture then softened, with June 2026 falling 5.1% to 563,103 at 90.7% of 2019, before July's decline. April 2026, at 140,648 and 83.3% of 2019, was the weakest against the 2019 benchmark in the recent run.

Among 37 European countries reporting July 2026, Bulgaria ranked 34th by year on year change. Several peers fared better, with Albania up 18.3%, Slovakia up 23.0%, Slovenia up 10.9% and Ireland up 6.2%, while Cyprus slipped 4.0%. Denmark, for which only June 2026 was available, rose 6.7%. The wider backdrop showed jet fuel at $3.40 a gallon in July 2026, up 51.6% on a year, alongside a 2.6% economic growth projection for 2026.

Written from the figures on 20 October 2026Every number checked against the dataNext update when August is published

At a glance

Latest monthJuly 2026
Arrivals789,944
On a year-5.4%
Against July 201997.2%
Growth rank in Europe34 of 37
Best month on recordAugust 2025
Trust gradeA, 93
Jet fuel, a gallon$3.40+51.6% on a year/v1/fuel
Growth 20262.6%projected/v1/economy/BG
This brief, its figures, rivals and outlook as data: GET /v1/countries/BG/briefAnalyst

Arrivals at accommodation: Foreign country, Hotels; holiday and other short-stay accommodation; camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks and trailer parks, and the change on a year

ArrivalsThe year beforeChange on a year, %
Follow Bulgaria in Google: add Tourism API as a preferred source and our new figures show first in your Top stories.Add as a preferred source

Bulgaria against its rivals

Click a country to swap it, or remove it with the cross. Up to six alongside Bulgaria.As data: GET /v1/compare?country=BGDeveloper
CountryLatestFigureOn a yearVs 2019Year to dateRivalry with Bulgaria

The last six months

MonthArrivalsOn a yearVs 2019Vs 3-year average
Jul 2026789,944-5.4%97.2%+46.3%
Jun 2026563,103-5.1%90.7%+4.6%
May 2026274,214+9.3%99.3%+21.3%
Apr 2026140,648-8.7%83.3%+2.2%
Mar 2026132,290n/a95.9%n/a
Feb 2026153,109-0.9%120.1%n/a

The next three months

No forecast for Bulgaria yet: it needs a longer monthly history in one unbroken series.

How it is worked outSee the full outlook

Who Bulgaria competes with for visitors

6 destinations chasing the same travellers

Ranked by how much of their visitors come from the same markets, how alike their seasons are, and how close they are in size. Open any of them to see its own rivals.

DenmarkRivalry 91
Same season and region
Denmark, June+6.7% · 423K
Bulgaria, July-5.4% · 790K
IrelandRivalry 86
Same season and region
Ireland, July+6.2% · 487K
Bulgaria, July-5.4% · 790K
AlbaniaRivalry 85
Same season and region
Albania, July+18.3% · 623K
Bulgaria, July-5.4% · 790K
SloveniaRivalry 78
Same season and region
Slovenia, July+10.9% · 1.01M
Bulgaria, July-5.4% · 790K
CyprusRivalry 73
Same season and region
Cyprus, July-4.0% · 414K
Bulgaria, July-5.4% · 790K
SlovakiaRivalry 72
Same season and region
Slovakia, July+23.0% · 315K
Bulgaria, July-5.4% · 790K
Bulgaria is also a rival forFinlandJordan

Rivalry is worked out from the figures each destination publishes and is remade every day. As data: /v1/countries/BG/rivals, on Developer and up.

Measures held

Arrivals/v1/arrivals?country=BG
Nights/v1/nights?country=BG
Spend/v1/spend?country=BG
Recovery against 201997%July 2026 against the same month of 2019, the year before the pandemic.Analyst
Forecast, next 12 monthsn/aNot worked out for Bulgaria yet: it needs a longer monthly history.Intel
Market concentrationn/aNot worked out for Bulgaria yet: it needs a longer monthly history.Intel

What is held for Bulgaria

MeasureFrequencyBreakdownSeriesFromLatest
ArrivalsMonthlyTotal12002-012026-07
ArrivalsMonthlyAccommodation42002-012026-07
ArrivalsMonthlyOrigin102002-012026-07
ArrivalsAnnualTotal219902025
ArrivalsAnnualAccommodation419902025
ArrivalsAnnualOrigin2519902025
ArrivalsAnnualRegion12020022025
NightsMonthlyTotal12002-012026-07
NightsMonthlyAccommodation42002-012026-07
NightsMonthlyOrigin102002-012026-07
NightsAnnualTotal1319902025
NightsAnnualAccommodation419902025
NightsAnnualOrigin2519902025
NightsAnnualRegion20420022025
SpendQuarterlyTotal81991-Q12026-Q2
SpendQuarterlyPurpose21995-Q12026-Q2
SpendAnnualTotal33519802025
SpendAnnualPurpose54519952025
DeparturesAnnualTotal7320082025
DeparturesAnnualPurpose13920122025
OccupancyMonthlyTotal22002-012026-07
CapacityAnnualTotal219902025
CapacityAnnualAccommodation919902025

Monthly arrivals: 88.5% of months held since 2002, none missing. See every month

Get Bulgaria in one call

# every arrivals month, Developer plan
curl "https://api.tourismapi.com/v1/arrivals?country=BG" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $TOURISM_API_KEY"

# the whole country in one file, Intel plan
curl -o bg.csv "https://api.tourismapi.com/v1/bulk/BG.csv" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $TOURISM_API_KEY"
Get API keyEndpoint docs

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