The pioneer in the cancelation of quarantine measures in Bulgaria is the ski resort of Bansko, which was quarantined first. On March 31, from 7 pm the quarantine in Bansko is canceled.

Sales of ski resorts in Bulgaria for the 2019-2020 season started actively last spring, however, to date, operators do not note stable growth. The demand for the summer season is now twice more than last year.

Most hotels in Bulgaria have kept prices for the Russian market at the level of last year. The leading market players with varying degrees of optimism evaluate the first results of early booking tours to Bulgaria.

This winter Russian tour operators are talking about increased demand. Early bookings of tours to the ski resorts in Bulgaria, which were offered at a discount up to 30%, have finished successfully.

For the nine months of 2019, 309,1 thousand trips were made from Russia to Bulgaria with the purpose of tourism, which is 12% less than the same time a year earlier.

The tour operator Tui Russia has analyzed the demand for the New Year holidays and compiled a rating of tourist destinations where Russians plan to travel with their children.

Bulgaria will be expanding cooperation with Russia in tourism, so it seeks to facilitate the issuance of visas for Russian tourists. In January-July 2019, Bulgaria saw a 12,4% decline in Russian tourist arrivals compared to 2018.

The tour operator Intourist has opened an early booking of ski tours in Bulgaria. Until the end of November discounts for accommodation here reach 20-25%.

The number of the Russian tourists’ flow in Bulgaria decreased by 25%. Experts connected this fact with competition from the Mediterranean countries - Turkey, Greece and Tunisia.

More and more Russian travelers are choosing high-level hotels for the autumn season. This is the conclusion made by the experts of Tez Tour after analysis of bookings on more than 30 destinations for dates from September to mid-October 2019. 

The number of tourists coming to Bulgaria for the 2019 summer season from Germany and Russia has declined, while 50% more Ukrainians are visiting the country, Bulgarian Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova has said, according to Novinite. Angelkova said that she hoped that these increases would compensate in the decrease in tourists coming to Bulgaria from Germany and Russia. 

Bulgaria released official statistics on tourist arrivals in the country for 2018. Russia is on the sixth position in Bulgaria among ten source markets. According to the Ministry of Tourism of Bulgaria, a foreign tourist flow to the country has been growing for the third year in a row. Last year, Bulgaria hosted a record number of foreign guests - almost 9.3 million people. This is 4.4% more than it was recorded in 2017. 

Tour operators have significantly adjusted their flight programs from Rostov-on-Don. So, in the summer season there will be no flights to Rhodes, Corfu, Bulgaria. Frequency of flights to Crete and Halkidiki is reduced by 2 times. At the same time, new destinations have appeared which will attract the tourists.  

According to aggregated estimates of tour operators, in this winter season the demand for ski tours in Bulgaria is at least as good as last year. Sales of a number of tour operators show a steady growth due to the action of early booking, which started in the summer,

Market participants, predicting the demand for the next season, note a number of important factors that may affect sales. First, as experts say, in conditions of rising fuel prices charter carriers, affiliated with tour operators, will prefer to fly more in those directions where subsidies from foreign countries are available.

Tour operators summed up the results of the season-2018 in Bulgaria and named possible conditions for growth in sales on the direction next year. Sales of Bulgaria in autumn season are still going well, but some seasonal special offers will not be enough for the growth of mass summer tourism.

According to tour operators, the sales of tours to Bulgaria for this autumn season are more active than for the autumn one of the last year. According to ICS Travel Group, demand has grown by 15-20% on a year-on-year basis, bookings reach the end of October. According to Intourist tour operator, the demand has grown due to a decrease of the cost of tours.

The Minister of Tourism of Bulgaria Nikolina Angelkova told reporters that as for today the number of bookings of Russian tourists has decreased by 5% in comparison with the same period of the last year. "I think this season the Russian tourist flow will be reduced by 3-4%, maximum - 5%", - stressed N. Angelkova.

“Bulgaria, maintaining the status of a family holiday destination, can improve its position on the Russian market. But for this the country will have to solve a number of issues - from visa allowances to promotion in Russia”, - say tour operators. Market participants note, that the demand for tours to Bulgaria at the current moment can be assessed as stable.

“St. Petersburg tour operator Aurora BG has canceled charter programs to Bulgaria and Montenegro since July 2”, - reports the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR). "Aurora BG tour operator on June 30 said in the official letter to its retail partners about the suspension of summer flight charter programs to Bulgaria and Montenegro starting July 2, 2018.

Dolphin tour operator has replenished its range of resorts with one more abroad destination. On the website of the tour operator - one of the leading players on the internal tourism market - has appeared a new direction of out coming tourism – Bulgaria.

“The number of Russian tourists to Bulgaria could grow by 40% in 2017 against the last year. The country is becoming a year-round destination for Russians”, - according to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR). As noted in the ATOR, most of the Russian tourists are interested in summer tourism.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Tourism of Bulgaria, from January to March 2017 about 28,700 Russian tourists visited the country, which is 12% higher than the figures of the same period in 2016. As stressed Ms. Angelkova the Head of Bulgarian tourism, the Russian market is one of the main generating markets for Bulgarian tourism industry, and the Bulgarian side is actively working towards a sustainable attraction of more Russian tourists.

“The tourist flow from Russia to the Bulgarian resorts in the summer season 2017 will increase by about 10%”, - said the press secretary of the Russian Tour Operators Union Irina Tyurina referring to the data of the country's tourism ministry. "Based on the preliminary results of early booking (which will end on March 31), provided by the Russian tour operators, it can be predicted, that in the upcoming summer season the growth of the tourist flow from our country to Bulgaria will be at least 10%," said I.Tyurina.

“The tour operator “Anex Tour” expanded range of areas of health tourism by offering tours to Bulgaria and Tunisia”, -it was said in the press service of the company on Friday.