Bulgarian hoteliers had their strongest August ever

Hotels in Bulgaria have had their best August ever. In the eighth month of this year, they reported revenues from overnight stays amounting to BGN 663 million, according to data published on Friday by the National Statistical Institute (NSI). A review by Economic.bg of previous years shows that for the last decade, each August has ended with higher results than the previous one (with the exception of 2020 due to the pandemic), and the upward trend continues in 2025 with an absolute peak of over BGN 660 million.

This is 14.1% more than in the comparable month of 2024, when revenues were BGN 581.9 million. Of the total revenues, BGN 476.2 million came from foreign visitors and BGN 187.5 million from Bulgarian citizens.

Data from 2012 and earlier are not comparable with the current ones because in 2012 a new Tourism Act was adopted, bringing the classification used into line with that of the European statistical service Eurostat. Specifically, instead of “accommodation facilities and places of accommodation,” the term “places of accommodation” was established in statistical practice, which now includes smaller reporting units, such as guest houses and rooms, which were previously excluded from the statistics.

As Economic.bg wrote, a key factor in the record revenues is the increase in the price of overnight stays, even though more and more offers include only breakfast or breakfast and dinner. In recent years, some industry players have stopped offering all-inclusive accommodation due to the rising cost of food. Another possible reason for the record achievement is the growing number of overnight stays, as well as the number of accommodation establishments themselves (see below).

A touch of luxury

In August 2025, there were 3,771 establishments with 10 or more beds operating in our country – hotels, motels, campsites, chalets, and other short-term accommodation facilities with 152,900 rooms and 355,600 beds. Compared to the same month of the previous year, the number of accommodation establishments increased by 1.4%, and the number of beds in them – by 4.9%.

The total number of overnight stays was 6.4 million, which is 1.5% more. Foreign citizens accounted for 4.1 million overnight stays, and Bulgarian citizens for 2.2 million.

Accommodation establishments with 4 and 5 stars accounted for 77.9% of the total number of overnight stays by foreign citizens and 41.3% by Bulgarian citizens. Three-star establishments accounted for 15.5% of overnight stays by foreign citizens and 23% by Bulgarian citizens, while one- and two-star establishments accounted for 6.6% and 35.7%, respectively.

Holidays will continue to become more expensive

With the end of the summer season, Bulgarians are already looking to make early bookings for the 2025 winter season. However, it appears that holidays will continue to become more expensive. According to Pavlina Ilieva, chair of the Future for Tourism Association, the upward trend in package holiday prices will continue until the end of this year and into the beginning of next year, with prices rising by up to 15%.

According to Ilieva, the price increase is not a Bulgarian but a European trend, which is also confirmed by Eurostat, according to whose data the prices of package holidays for consumers in the European Union in August were 2.5% higher than in the same month of 2024.

The reasons are related to increased energy costs, the declining number of tourists, and specifically for Bulgaria, the lack of a unified policy for the development of the sector, as well as the lag in infrastructure and a unified vision for the country on an international scale, she told BTA.

However, the expert did not rule out a possible price effect from Bulgaria's upcoming membership in the eurozone.

Perhaps because of the upcoming membership, we are seeing a significant increase in the base prices of products every month, which contributes to an increase in the overall price, but by no more than 10-15%, which can be said to be a standard annual price update,” Ilieva noted.

She reminded that package holidays are at last year's prices because they were sold on early bookings for December-January, adding that it would be difficult to update them with their actual August values. They will only be paid for by tourists who made last-minute purchases.

Translated with DeepL.