# Tourism in Bulgaria

Tourism in Bulgaria is a significant contributor to the country's economy. Situated at the crossroads of the East and West, Bulgaria has been home to many civilizations: Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Eastern Romans or Byzantines, Slavs, Bulgars, and Ottomans. The country is rich in tourist sights and historical artifacts, scattered through a relatively small and easily accessible territory. Bulgaria is internationally known for its seaside and winter resorts.
Bulgaria attracted over 13 million foreign tourists in 2024, according to the latest data from the National Statistics Institute. Tourists from five countries (Romania, Turkey, Greece, Germany and United Kingdom) account for approximately 50% of all visitors. The sector contributed to 15% of GDP and supported 150,000 workplaces in 2014.

## Tourist attractions
### UNESCO World Heritage Sites and Intangible Cultural Heritage List

There are ten UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Bulgaria. The first four properties were inscribed in the World Heritage List in 1979, and the last in 2017. Bulgaria currently has sixteen additional properties on the Tentative List. Nestinarstvo, a ritual fire-dance of Thracian origin, is included in the list of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
* Rila Monastery
* Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak
* Boyana Church
* Madara Rider
* Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari
* Rock-hewn Churches
* Ancient City of Nessebar
* Pirin National Park
* Srebarna Nature Reserve
* Primeval Beech Forests of the Central Balkans
* Nestinarstvo
* Chiprovtsi carpet
* Surva, Masquerade games
* Koprivshtitsa folklore fair
* Martenitsa

### Ethnic, cultural and historical tourism

The Bulgarian cultural heritage has many faces and manifestations - archaeological reserves and monuments, museums, galleries, rich cultural calendar, preserved folklore and magnificent architectural monuments.

#### Historical monuments and sites

* Tsarevets and Veliko Tarnovo
* Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
* Bulgaria National Assembly
* Shipka Memorial
* Plovdiv Roman theatre
* Perperikon
* Baba Vida
* Balchik Palace
* Dyavolski most
* Nicopolis ad Istrum
* Aleksandrovo Thracian tomb
* Belogradchik Fortress
* Dohodno Zdanie
* Great Basilica, Pliska
* Covered Bridge, Lovech
* Asen's Fortress
* Euxinograd
* 1300 Years of Bulgaria
* Cherven fortress
* Villa Armira
* Buzludzha
* Vrana Palace
* Asenevtsi monument
* Thracian Tomb of Tatul

#### Museums

* National Historical Museum
* National Archaeological Museum
* National Gallery for Foreign Art
* National Museum of Military History
* National Museum of Natural History
* Sofia History Museum
* National museum "Vasil Levski", Karlovo
* National Transport Museum
* Dorkovo Museum
* Pleven Panorama
* Agushevi konatsi, Mogilitsa
* Museum of the rose, Kazanlak
* Rozhen Observatory
* Wine Museum
* House of Humour and Satire
* Varna dolphinarium
* Mining museum, Pernik
* Varna Archaeological Museum
* Museum of Socialist Art, Sofia
* Museum of Mosaics, Devnya

#### Thracian treasures

Thracians made beautifully ornate golden and silver objects such as various kinds of vessels, rhytons, facial masks, pectorals, jewelry, weapons, etc. They used to bury rich hoards of precious objects both to hide them in times of enemy invasions and unrest as well as for ritual purposes. To date, more than 80 Thracian treasures have been excavated in Bulgaria which was the cradle of the Thracian civilization.
* Panagyurishte Treasure
* Rogozen Treasure
* Valchitran Treasure
* Golden mask of Teres I
* Bronze head of Seuthes III found in Golyamata Kosmatka
* Lukovit Treasure
* Letnitsa treasure
* Yakimovo Thracian Treasure
* Ravnogor Thracian Treasure
* A thracian golden necklace found in Arabadjiiska Mogila
* Sinemorets Gold figurines
* Thracian helmet found in Pletena
* Vazovo Thracian Pegasus
* Kralevo Treasure
* Golden treasure found in the Sveshtari Mound
* King Cotys I's Borovo Treasure
* Odrysian Wreath of Cersobleptes, Zlatinica-Malomirovo
* Mogilanska Mogila funeral offerings

#### Rural tourism

The Bulgarian town house is an embodiment of the owner's social status, craft and traditions. Many old buildings that demonstrate this type of architecture—e.g. in the villages of Arbanasi, Leshten, Kovachevitsa, Melnik—have been preserved to the present day.
* Koprivshtitsa
* Troyan
* Etar
* Dryanovo
* Elena
* Tryavna
* Lovech, Varosha
* Bozhentsi
* Kovachevitsa
* Zheravna
* Arbanasi
* Zlatograd
* Shiroka Laka
* Melnik
* Leshten
* Dolen
* Brashlyan
* Stefanovo
* Kosovo
* Tutrakan

#### City tourism

* Sofia
* Plovdiv
* Varna
* Burgas
* Ruse, "The Little Vienna"
* Veliko Tarnovo
* Svishtov

#### Monasteries

During the 13th and especially during the 14th centuries the construction of monasteries thrived. Due to the troubled times many monasteries resembled fortresses. They usually had rectangular shape, the buildings surrounded a yard in which the main church was located. From the outside they had high stone walls reinforced with counterforts, and from the inside there were galleries with several stores which led towards the dwellings of the monks.
* Rila Monastery
* Rozhen Monastery
* Bachkovo Monastery
* Troyan Monastery
* Drianovo Monastery
* Sokolski Monastery
* Cherepishki Monastery
* Shipka Monastery
* Zemen Monastery
* Aladzha Monastery
* Basarbovo Monastery
* Transfiguration Monastery

#### Churches

* Boyana Church
* Rock-hewn Churches
* Churches of Nessebar
* Church of the Nativity of Christ in Arbanasi
* Church of Sveta Arhangeli Mikhail & Gavril, Arbanasi
* Church of St Petka, Vukovo
* Church of St Demetrius, Boboshevo
* Church of the Holy Mother of God, Asen's Fortress
* Church of St Peter, Berende
* Saint Nicholas, Slokostitsa

#### Festivals and events

* Rozhen National Folklore Fair
* Epiphany's horo in Kalofer
* Festival of the rose, Kazanlak
* Spirit of Burgas
* Kavarna Rock Fest
* July Morning, at Kamen Bryag
* Paneurhythmy dances at the Seven Rila Lakes
* Tsarevets Sound and Light
* Surva, Masquerade games
* Koprivshtitsa folklore fair

### Resorts and nature tourism
#### Seaside resorts

The Bulgarian Black Sea Coast is picturesque and diverse. White and golden sandy beaches occupy approximately 130 km of the 378 km long coast. The temperatures during the summer months are very suitable for marine tourism and the water temperature allows sea bathing from May to October. Prior to 1989 the Bulgarian Black Sea coast was internationally known as the Red Riviera. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, however, its nickname has been changed to the Bulgarian Riviera.
* Rusalka
* Primorsko
* Kavarna
* Albena
* Kiten
* Golden Sands
* Constantine and Helena
* Irakli
* Ahtopol
* Sinemorets
* Kamchia
* Dyuni
* Sozopol
* Pomorie
* Shkorpilovtsi
* Byala
* Sunny Beach
* Balchik
* Obzor
* Sveti Vlas

#### Hiking and skiing

The country has several ski areas which offer excellent conditions for skiing, snowboarding, ski running and other winter sports.
* Bansko
* Borovets
* Pamporovo
* Osogovo
* Razlog
* Malyovitsa
* Vitosha
* Uzana

## National Parks

Bulgaria has 3 national parks, 11 nature parks and 55 nature reserves. The first nature park in Bulgaria and the Balkan Peninsula is Vitosha Nature Park, established in 1934.
* Pirin National Park
* Rila National Park
* Central Balkan National Park
* Belasitsa Nature Park
* Bulgarka Nature Park
* Vitosha Nature Park
* Golden Sands Nature Park
* Persina Nature Park
* Sinite Kamani Nature Park
* Strandzha Nature Park
* Rusenski Lom Nature Park
* Shumensko Plato Nature Park

### Caves and waterfalls

As of 2002, there are around 4,500 discovered underground formations in Bulgaria. The earliest written records about the caves in Bulgaria are found in the manuscripts of the 17th century Bulgarian National Revival figure and historian Petar Bogdan. The first Bulgarian speleological society was established in 1929. The caves in the country are inhabited by more than 700 invertebrate species and 32 of the 37 species of bats found in Europe.
* Devil's Throat Cave
* Bacho Kiro cave
* Devetashka cave
* Ledenika
* Magura Cave
* Prohodna
* Saeva dupka
* Snezhanka (cave)
* Uhlovitsa
* Babsko Praskalo
* Borov Kamak
* Emen
* Raysko Praskalo
* Etropole Waterfall
* Karlovsko Praskalo
* Krushuna Falls
* Popinolashki waterfall
* Skakavitsa Waterfall

### Nature landforms and formations

* Seven Rila Lakes
* The Stone Mushrooms
* Belogradchik Rocks
* The Stone Desert
* Trigrad Gorge
* Stob Pyramids
* Zlatnite Mostove
* Marvelous Bridges
* Iskar Gorge
* Ritlite
* Melnik Earth Pyramids
* Rock wedding, Kardzhali

## Statistics
### Arrivals by country

Most visitors arriving in Bulgaria on short-term basis came from the following countries of nationality:
| Rank | Country | 2023 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| 1 | Turkey | 2,200,341 | 1,628,231 | 1,534,809 | 1,437,276 | 1,312,895 |
| 2 | Romania | 2,106,097 | 3,400,340 | 2,035,606 | 1,943,436 | 1,743,697 |
| 3 | Ukraine | 1,181,911 | 596,993 | 487,400 | 388,645 | 342,214 |
| 4 | Greece | 1,109,412 | 1,277,610 | 1,290,313 | 1,272,997 | 1,157,062 |
| 5 | Germany | 897,480 | 1,245,400 | 1,063,502 | 1,046,219 | 1,003,030 |
| 6 | Serbia | 643,488 | 679,336 | 632,902 | 541,303 | 490,668 |
| 7 | Poland | 467,505 | 445,316 | 474,984 | 424,724 | 388,833 |
| 8 | North Macedonia | 425,012 | 670,450 | 609,591 | 583,026 | 562,365 |
| 9 | United Kingdom | 399,455 | 589,342 | 424,384 | 352,054 | 281,777 |
| 10 | Israel | 206,570 | 246,404 | 245,567 | 209,304 | 183,846 |
| 11 | France | 200,950 | 250,014 | 260,099 | 231,348 | 195,571 |
| 12 | Czech Republic | 198,727 | 214,550 | 236,265 | 209,218 | 219,349 |
| 13 | Netherlands | 185,584 | 176,122 | 193,362 | 183,755 | 147,882 |
| 14 | Austria | 183,926 | 214,179 | 217,541 | 216,986 | 204,489 |
| 15 | Italy | 181,514 | 167,658 | 181,770 | 177,250 | 152,078 |
| 16 | Russia | 139,799 | 460,770 | 522,085 | 565,754 | 589,844 |
| 17 | Belgium | 128,725 | 155,367 | 170,146 | 152,739 | 119,429 |
| 18 | United States | 114,593 | 109,283 | 101,220 | 90,963 | 82,465 |
| 19 | Hungary | 99,704 | 111,132 | 102,956 | 111,405 | 118,805 |
| 20 | Spain | 86,655 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | Total | 12,627,547 | 14,450,400 | 11,596,167 | 10,604,396 | 9,316,624 |