According to forecasts of the Institute for tourism studies and analyses, Bulgarians will spend more than BGN 350 M on trips during the forthcoming May holidays.

The holidays in May will start with the celebration of the Orthodox Easter on May 1, followed by Saint George’s Day observed on May 6 and the Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slavonic Literature celebrated on May 24.

A total of 580 000 Bulgarians are expected to spend the holidays in the country, mainly visiting relatives and friends, while forecasts predict that 380 000 people will opt for resorts abroad, the preferred destinations being Greece, Macedonia and Serbia.

The average amount spent in Bulgaria is expected to be BGN 285, while that abroad is forecasted at BGN 490.

A month before the start of the May holidays, most of the hotels and guest houses are almost fully booked.

The lowest fares can be found at guest houses where a typical holiday costs up to BGN 100. Three-day packages at SPA hotels begin from BGN 280.

More than 550 000 foreign tourists are expected to visit Bulgaria in May.

Due to the series of recent terrorist attacks in Turkey, the number of Bulgarians travelling there will not exceed 60 000 people, a half of previous figures.

The analysts from the institute are also predicting a considerable increase in the number of tourists choosing Bulgaria as the destination for their summer holiday due to the terrorist attacks and the refugee crisis.

However they are pointing that Bulgaria does not have the capacity to accommodate the expected increase in the number of tourists.

The analysts are warning that it will be difficult to find available rooms at the Black Sea coast especially in the months of July and August.

Forecasts are predicting that around fifteen million tourist will not visit Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia, with a considerable part of them opting for European resorts.

Bulgarian resorts are reporting 20 % in the number of bookings compared to the same period last year.