Bulgarians will spend BGN 350 M on holidays in Greece in the period May 15 – September 15, 2014, according to an expert from the Institute of Analyses and Assessments in Tourism.

Rumen Draganov, as cited by econ.bg, suggested that some 660 000 Bulgarians would visit Greece in the 2014 summer season.

He also pointed out that around 750 000 Bulgarians were expected to pick Turkey as their holiday destination, spending some BGN 330-340 M there.

Draganov summarized that Bulgarians were expected to spend a total of BGN 690 M in the two countries in the summer season.

He added that some 3.3 million Bulgarians were expected to spend their summer holidays in Bulgaria, generating tourism revenues of around BGN 874.5 M. The expert specified that Bulgarians spent an average of 3 days by the sea and spent an average of BGN 265 per person.

Sources close to the matter informed that Bulgarian families with incomes above the average tended to make several trips in the summer, visiting Greece and the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.

Draganov assured that there was nothing worrying about Bulgarian resorts, adding that the current occupancy rate stood at 87-88% at most resort complexes.

He said that the occupancy rate of the hotels which did not boast a beach front location was around 63%, while guest houses registered an occupancy rate of around 28%.

Draganov claimed that the Black Sea resorts which were stricken by severe flooding a few weeks ago were expected to report very high occupancy rates in end-July, with Albena expected to register an occupancy rate of 98%.

He assured that Bulgaria's tourism sector was stable, stressing that the investments of the business sector and of the state had proved to be exceptionally sustainable.