Bulgarian citizens made 848,800 trips abroad in April 2026, representing an 8.9% increase compared to the same month last year. According to final data from the National Statistical Institute (NSI), an increase in travel was observed across all monitored purposes during this period. Meanwhile, visits by foreign citizens to Bulgaria in April totaled 795,800, a slight decrease of 0.2% compared to the same month the previous year.
An analysis of the tourism structure in April shows that leisure and excursion trips increased by 3.5%, while trips for other purposes saw a 2.8% decrease, and business travel declined by 0.7%. Transit crossings through Bulgarian territory accounted for 30.9% of the total number of foreign visits.
Trends for March 2026 were different, as inbound tourism exceeded outbound tourism during that month. Visits by foreign citizens to the country in March totaled 789,300, a 2.8% increase compared to March 2025. During this period, transit crossings made up 31.5% of all foreign visits. Regarding travel purposes in March, there was an 8% increase in business travel and a 5% increase in leisure and excursion trips, while trips for other purposes decreased by 0.1%.
In comparison, trips by Bulgarians abroad in March 2026 totaled 724,600, which is 2% less than in March 2025. Among them, a 5.4% decrease was recorded for trips for other purposes, while business travel and leisure/excursion trips increased by 3.1% and 0.5%, respectively.
Regarding preferred destinations, in April, Bulgarians most frequently chose Turkey, Greece, Romania, Serbia, and North Macedonia. The top four destinations in March were identical, albeit with lower volumes, with Germany in fifth place. For foreign visitors to Bulgaria, the top five destinations remained unchanged across both months: the largest number of guests came from Turkey, followed by Romania, Greece, Serbia, and Germany.