Bulgaria Ranks Last in EU for Foreign Tourist Growth.

Bulgaria is reporting a worrying decline in international tourist flows, ranking last in the European Union for growth in foreign tourists during the January–April period. This was announced by Tourism Minister Ilian Dimitrov, who stressed that despite the resorts’ readiness for the summer season, there is no real influx of visitors. At the moment, our resorts are ready, they are clean, organized and expecting tourists, but there are no tourists, Dimitrov said.

He cited Eurostat data published a few days ago, according to which Bulgaria ranks last in the European Union for tourist growth in the period from January to April 2026. While the European Union as a whole reported growth of 4.5%, Bulgaria was in negative territory at -4.3%. According to him, the EU average showed an increase of 4.5%, while Bulgaria recorded a decline of about 4%, which clearly points to a significant outflow of tourist bookings and visitors from the country.

Dimitrov accused the ministry’s previous leadership of directing funds toward activities with no substantial effect on the sector instead of working to attract more tourists. The minister sharply criticized the way funds had been spent in previous periods, giving specific examples of contracts and activities that call into question the effectiveness of the investments. He cited as an example a contract worth BGN 541,000 for broadcasting advertising videos on the facade of a building, noting that the contract is still in force because it does not contain a termination clause for the Ministry of Tourism.

We will terminate it; we may even go to court, Dimitrov said.