In May 2026, Bulgarians made a total of 922,500 trips abroad, marking a 5.5% increase compared with the same month in 2025, according to preliminary data from the National Statistical Institute. Officials reported growth across all categories of travel purpose.
Turkey remained the leading destination with 247,100 trips, followed by Greece with 202,400. Other frequently visited countries included Romania (83,100), Serbia (59,300), Germany (50,300), North Macedonia (37,100), Italy (35,500), Austria (30,700), Spain (24,600), and France (24,100).
Travel for leisure and excursions accounted for the largest share of outbound trips at 42.5%. Other purposes represented 39.7%, while business travel made up 17.8% of the total.
At the same time, Bulgaria recorded 1.0218 million visits from foreign nationals in May 2026, a 2.4% rise year-on-year. Authorities noted increases across all observed categories of entry purposes.
Transit travel accounted for 307,900 visits, or 30.1% of all foreign entries. Citizens of European Union countries made up 60.5% of total visitors, reaching 618,700 people, with Romanians and Greeks representing the largest shares among EU arrivals.
