Winter tourism is holding steady and is growing more and more predictable compared to summer tourism, said Bayko Baykov, chairman of the Association of Bulgarian Tour Operators & Travel Agents for the Bulgarian National Radio.

The biggest number of tourists coming to our winter resorts are from the neighbouring Balkan countries. At the same time the fact that markets that were, until recently closed, like Egypt and Tunisia are now active, and the revival of Turkey as a major factor on the Russian market, are among the reasons why we are seeing a decline in summer seaside tourism in Bulgaria. A drop in the number of Russian tourists of between 15 and 20 percent is to be expected in 2019. Cultural and SPA tourism have been marking a steady upward trend in the past 5-6 years. Over the past 10 years outbound tourism has seen a steady growth, Turkey being the hit on the Bulgarian market with an increase of over two and a half times.