The number of Romanian tourists in Bulgaria dropped by 17.8% since the beginning of this year, according to data from the association of tour operators ABTTA, cited by Dnevnik.bg, reports local Mediafax. The number of visitors from the European Union also fell by 15.5%, while the tourism sector in Bulgaria registered an overall decline of 5.7%.

According to ABTTA, the number of tourists coming from the EU represents only half of those who have visited the country, compared with a share of 70% five years ago.

From early-2014, the number of tourists from Germany dropped by 10.4%, while in the case of Romanian tourists the decline was of 17.8%. The number of British tourists also decreased by 24.4%, Danish tourists – down 36.8%, Swedish tourists – down 36.9% and Dutch tourists – 20.9%.

The tensions between Ukraine and Russia also affected the number of visitors in Ukraine, which registered a drop of 10%. In Russia’s case, the number remained similar to the level registered in 2013.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com