The tourism industry in the European Union is recovering rapidly after the pandemic. Eurostat's forecast figures for tourism in 2022 show that the sector has almost fully recovered to its pre-pandemic levels. The number of overnight stays in the EU in 2022 reached 94% of its 2019 levels, indicated a study by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).
Bulgaria is also among countries that are recovering at a fast pace, the study notes. However, the country remains in the second ten among EU countries in the number of expected overnight stays in 2022 compared to 2019, with the level of recovery slightly below the European average. Tourism in Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium is recovering at the fastest pace and has reached higher levels than before the pandemic. Serbia is recovering even faster than the EU countries.
In the period January-November 2022, nearly 7 million tourists were registered in Bulgaria compared to 7.7 million in the same period of 2019. At the same time, the share of Bulgarian tourists who vacationed in Bulgaria increased by 10.6%. For comparison, foreign tourists who chose this country for their vacation decreased by 30% in 2022 compared to 2019.
Although the EU is a main partner to Bulgaria in terms of tourism, it saw a decline in the number of tourists from almost all major partner countries for the period January-November 2022 compared to the same period in 2019. Among the main reasons for this were the uncertainty in Europe, the increased prices of services in tourism and the proximity of this country to the war in Ukraine, which acts as a deterrent to inbound international tourism. Positive trends were observed only for visitors from Romania and the Czech Republic.
Some of Bulgaria's main tourist partners, including the United Kingdom and Germany, are worried about the complex geopolitical situation in the region. Therefore, BCCI calls on the Ministry of Tourism to direct advertising funds to countries that are close to the conflict, such as Poland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, as well as to the Baltic Republics, for which the war in Ukraine is not a factor of significant importance in terms of travel.