The sums Bulgarians living abroad send back to their families in this country have dropped dramatically, according to Bulgarian National Bank data. The money transfers have gone down by 370 million euro over the first 6 months of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

636 million euro entered the country over the same period of last year, whereas this year this figure is 266 million.

According to Latchezar Bogdanov from the Institute for Market Economics this fact will affect Bulgaria’s economy. “For households who regularly receive money transfers this will be a serious blow to their incomes,” he commented for Nova TV. The economist predicts that, if the crisis in tourism continues, seasonal jobs will be lost. “The corona-crisis will catalyze serious reforms,” he says.