[size=75:2c9ujmxz]Sofia echo 13 April 2010

More foreign tourists visit Bulgaria at the beginning of 2010

Foreign tourists visiting Bulgaria marked an increase of 7.8 per cent in January and February 2010, compared to the same period last year, Maria Ivanova, from the tourism department of the Ministry of Economy, told Bulgarian media in Veliko Turnovo during a cultural tourist exhibition.

The revenue generated for this period amounts to 103.9 million euro, or a 8.2 per cent growth, from last year.

The most substantial increase in tourism was generated by Serbia and Macedonia, with 41 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively. Russian holidaymakers also contributed to the growth, with 25.5 per cent more tourists than 2009. Meanwhile, the number of Turkish tourists was 10 per cent higher than last year, while British, Romanian and Greek tourists marked a growth of between two and four per cent.

The biggest decline was in Austrian tourists (13 per cent), followed by German, French and Italian holidaymakers with 9.2, 6.2 and five per cent respectively.

"
The industry is expecting an increase of Bulgarian tourists along the Black Sea coast,"
Ivanova said.