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Number of EU holidaymakers in Bulgaria in August

The number of people from other European Union countries visiting Bulgaria in August 2011 was 1.5 per cent higher than in August 2010, according to the National Statistics Institute.

The biggest gain was in visitors from Greece, with numbers up by 14.4 per cent.

The next highest increase was in visitors from Slovakia, by 8.4 per cent.

But the numbers of visitors from some EU states were down. Holidaymakers from Estonia were down by close to 15 per cent, the Czech Republic by 10.5 per cent and Slovenia by 8.3 per cent.

Overall, visits to Bulgaria in August 2011 by people from non-EU countries were down by 7.5 per cent. The largest decreases, year-on-year, were in visitors from Turkey, by 33.1 per cent and Norway, by 9.6 per cent.