Bulgaria Lags in Absorbing EU Funds, Risking Losses and Growing Debt
Bulgaria is falling behind in its utilization of European Union funds
In December 2023, there were 2,229 establishments in the country, such as hotels, motels, campgrounds, mountain huts, and other short-term accommodation options. They had a total of 63.6 thousand rooms and 132.0 thousand beds. Compared to the same month of the previous year, the number of such establishments increased by 0.2%, while the number of beds in them increased by 3.0%. These data are provided by the National Statistical Institute.
The total number of overnight stays reached 995.8 thousand, representing an increase of 2.9% compared to the previous year. The most significant growth of 7.3% is observed in accommodations with 3 stars. Overnight stays by foreigners and Bulgarian citizens in 4 and 5-star accommodations account for 76.0% and 46.1% of the total respectively. In 3-star accommodations, they represent 16.4% of foreigners and 28.4% of Bulgarians, while in 1 and 2-star accommodations, they are 7.6% and 25.5% respectively.
The number of visitors increased by 4.3% compared to the same month in 2022 and reached 493 thousand. Foreign citizens are 117.2 thousand, with an average of 2.3 overnight stays each, with 76.5% of them staying in accommodations with 4 and 5 stars.
The overall occupancy rate of beds is 24.9%, increasing by 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous year. The highest occupancy rate of beds is observed in accommodations with 4 and 5 stars - 33.9%, followed by those with 3 stars - 24.4%, and with 1 and 2 stars - 14.8%.
Revenue from overnight stays increased by 19.8% compared to the same month of the previous year, reaching 89.7 million leva. Of these revenues, 62.2 million leva were generated by Bulgarian citizens, while 27.5 million leva came from foreign citizens.
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