According to official statistics, in May 2014 the flow of foreign tourists has led to a nearly 50 % increase in revenue compared to the previous month and 55% compared to the same period last year.
07.24.2014, Plovdiv – The data for the first 6 months of this year showed steady growth in many of the indicators and provided grounds for optimism for a strong year for tourism in Plovdiv and the region. According to the statistics of the National Institute of Statistics there is an increase in nights spent in total of 20.11%, of Bulgarian tourists 7% and 43% of foreign tourists.
According to the Municipal Enterprise of Tourism revenues from tourist taxes increased by 25% compared to 2013, the growth was made by visits to tourist sites in January-June 2014 compared to the same period in 2013 which is 11%. The increase in income from rent is generally 33% – the share of Bulgarian tourists increased by 24%, while that of foreign tourists increases by approximately 44% compared to the first six months of 2013. Realized visits to tourist information centers for the period January – June 2014 compared to 2013 recorded 30% growth for foreigners and 56% for visits from Bulgarians.
“We expect that in subsequent periods this percentage will increase significantly because of the new unique for Bulgaria tourist attractions that we soon discovered by the early Christian basilica and the reconstruction of the Roman stadium with 3D presentation of the site”, commented from municipality.
According to the statistics from May 2014 of the city in the ranking of Bulgarian cities, is after Sofia, Nessebar and Varna, regarding nights and income from accommodations. So, Plovdiv went ahead in the rankings with two points ahead of Bansko and Smolyan. The biggest number of nights spent by foreigners by country as for May 2014, are from Turkey, USA, Italy and Germany.
It is recognized that the results are due to the successful cooperation of the Municipality of Plovdiv, hoteliers, restaurateurs and industry organizations. This is one of the main objectives of the municipal tourism. Significant contribution to these data has successful work on projects such as the International Meeting of the tour operators.
Other initiatives and projects related to tourism in Plovdiv which make the city even more attractive is our efforts to create the “Kapana” neighborhood a hub of the creative industries with many attractions and also the successful completion of the second round of the application of the city as the “European Capital of Culture 2019”.
Advertising the city in print, television and electronic media, foreign world-class media as BBC, National Geographic, etc., and the inclusion of the city in the mobile application Pocket Guide – 25 sites were other projects in the field of culture, which helped for the placement of the city on the map of cultural and event tourism. The repair of the central pedestrian zone, which will be not only the largest in Bulgaria, but also one of the longest central pedestrian streets in the world and the participations of the city in one of the most important international tourism exhibitions in Bulgaria and abroad are initiatives that also contribute to the achievement of good results.
