n the first quarter of 2019, 929.0 thousand Bulgarian residents1 made tourist trips, reported the National Statistical Institute.

The majority (78.4%) of them travelled only within the country, 17.7% - only abroad and 3.9% - both in the country and abroad. Compared to the same quarter of 2018 the total number of the travelled persons aged 15 and over decreased by 7.3%.

In the first quarter of 2019, most Bulgarians aged 25 - 44 years travelled - 417.6 thousand or 45.0% of all travelled persons. In all age groups predominated the share of the trips in the country, as the highest was the share among persons aged 25 - 44 - 80.3% from the travelled in this age group. About the trips abroad the share of residents aged 15 - 24 was the highest - 27.9% of travelled in the respective group.

The majority of tourist trips of persons aged 15 and over in the country (45.4%) and abroad (61.4%) were for ‘holiday and recreation’.

In the first quarter of 2019, 1 203.1 thousand or 91.2% of the total number of the private tourist trips were registered as an independent. The relative share of the independent travels without booking of the trip in the country was 95.8%, while those abroad - 69.8%.

In the structure of the expenditure by type with highest relative share was the expenditure on food in domestic trips - 33.7%, while in outbound trips was on transport - 35.1%.

In the first quarter of 2019 a person aged 15 and over spent on the average for private trip 195.68 BGN in the country and 556.10 BGN for private trip abroad.

At the same time the average expenditure per person for professional trip was 160.44 BGN for domestic trip and 1 172.47 BGN for professional outbound trip.