Tourism continues to be a major sector in Bulgaria's economy, registering a growth in revenue and in the number of tourists, according to an analysis of the Institute of Marketing at the request of the Ministry of Economy and Energy.

The survey is based on summary data from the National Statistical Institute and the Bulgarian National Bank, investor.bg notes.

The figures for the period January - August 2014 show that nearly 5,391 million foreign citizens visited Bulgaria (excluding transit passengers), which is 6% more than in the same period of 2013.

Meanwhile, revenues from international tourism in the current account of balance of payments, according to data of the Bulgarian National Bank for the first seven months of 2014, are about EUR 1.7B, which is also an increase of 3.6% compared to the same period of 2013.

Analysts point out that there is a sharp increase in guest visits - over 323 thousand, which is 29% more, and in business visits which were over 799 thousand - an increase of 20.6%.

Based on these figures, the Institute of Marketing concludes that Bulgarian tourism holds relatively good positions in 2014.