Albena with a successful season, but is looking for new markets instead of the Russian one

The resort complex Albena marked a significant revival during the 2025 summer season, registering an impressive 1,100,000 overnight stays. This result shows a serious recovery of the tourist sector on the Northern Black Sea coast, although the challenges from recent years continue to have an impact.

The data indicates that the main tourist flows came from markets traditionally strong for the Bulgarian coast. The top three visitors include tourists from Bulgaria, Romania, and Germany, who once again chose Albena for their summer vacation. Domestic tourists are the most numerous group, with over 130,000 Bulgarians visiting the resort, according to information from BNR.

Despite the positive trends, the sector remains in the face of serious challenges. Although the 2025 results are better compared to the previous year, they still have not managed to reach the levels from the period before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which dealt a heavy blow to global tourism. This fact was also confirmed by Margita Todorova, who holds the position of Director of Operations, Marketing, and Sales at the resort.

In a statement to BNR, she noted that the main reason for the inability to fully restore pre-pandemic results is the lack of one of the largest markets for Bulgaria. "We must not forget that in previous years there was a large market – the Russian one, which at the moment is impossible to cover, we are still looking for an alternative," commented Todorova, referring to the consequences of international sanctions and political instability stemming from the Kremlin's actions.

Meanwhile, the efforts of tourism operators are directed toward attracting new groups of visitors to compensate for the losses. According to Todorova, "All of Eastern Europe is rediscovering the Bulgarian Black Sea coast," which is a promising sign for the future of the sector.

An additional factor for the increased interest in the resort is the development of SPA tourism. According to the data, the interest of guests from Bulgaria and Germany in this segment is growing, which not only expands the scope of the tourist offerings but also provides year-round employment for some of the hotels in the complex. This trend gives hope for a reduction in the strong seasonality that traditionally characterizes the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.

Against the backdrop of this data, the tourism industry in Albena continues to seek innovative approaches to attract new visitors while observing the dynamics of international markets and the geopolitical situation.