Bulgaria issued over 100,000 visas this year

This year 100 thousand visas were issued by June, 1, which is two weeks earlier than the last year. Yesterday the Ambassador of Bulgaria in Moscow Boyko Kotzev handed a voucher for a week stay at any 3* all inclusive hotel in Albena to a Russian tourist Andjela Kobanova who was a #1000 to receive visa to the country. The voucher was provided by Bulgaria’s major hotel chain Albena.

Mrs. Kabanova is travelling to Bulgaria for the first time. A free voucher for her family was both surprising and useful – the maritime air is necessary for her son who suffers from bronchial allergy: “An extra week at sea will do a power of good to my son. We’re happy to spend more time at the seaside in Bulgaria than we planned to”.

The Embassy of Bulgaria not only plans to support the holder of 100 thousand issued visa, but to encourage future holders of 200- and 300- thousand issued visa. “We hope it becomes a heart-warming tradition, - said the Deputy Director of the Bulgarian Embassy’s Department of Economics, Trade and Travel Service Katya Djekova. – We want Russians to visit various Bulgarian resorts to see less famous places of interest”, - noted Mrs. Djekova.

According to the Bulgarian Consular Angel Georgiev, this year the demand in visa is higher than the last year; this year the growth of visa application started in the end of April, while in 2011 it started in the middle of May. “The number of Russian tourists is growing every year, especially it can be noted by the number of independent tours, - he noted. – I believe it’s due to Russians purchasing real estate at our resorts”. From the beginning of the year private tourists obtained 33400 visas which is 22% more than in the same period of 2011. 68250 visas were claimed through tour operators which is by almost 13% more than in the same months of the previous year. 

For the last three years the annual growth of the tourist flow amounted to 20%. Within five month of the present year 97760 Russians entered Bulgaria which is 15% more if compared to 2011 and 115% more if compared to 2009. “That’s a good dynamics; I think the tourist flow is to grow notably”, - said Angel Georgiev.