Russians' Demand for Bulgarian Vacations Up 35%

Bulgaria has seen some of the highest popularity growth as a summer vacation destination among Russian tourists in 2012. Photo by BGNES

Russians' demand for vacations in Bulgaria has grown between 20% and 35% in 2012 year-on-year, according to various estimates, registering some of the highest growth figures among all summer tourist destinations on the Russian market, a paper report says.

According to Maya Lomidze, head of the Association of Russian Tour Operators, cited by Rossiyskaya Gazeta, in terms of absolute numbers Turkey and Egypt top the list of the most popular summer tourism destinations for Russians, followed by Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, France, Croatia, Cyprus, and Montenegro (in descending order).

However, in terms of growth, the traditional European Mediterranean and Black Sea destinations have overtaken Turkey and Egypt, with Turkey seeing a mere 10% growth in demand for its tourism packages among Russian tourists, while Egypt's popularity has remained roughly the same as in 2011.

Bulgaria's growth of up to 35% in visits by Russian tourists is followed by Greece's 20%-30%, Italy's 20%, Croatia's 15%-20%, while the Russians' demand for vacations in Montenegro has doubled.

In all of 2011, Bulgaria was visited by some 450 000 Russians, with tourism officials expecting their total number to reach 600 000 by the end of 2012, or a growth rate of about 30%.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!