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Bulgaria ranks first in the EU in terms of occupancy rate of accommodation places in mid-2012

Tuesday, Oct 23, 2012

In mid-2012, Bulgaria reported the highest occupancy rate of beds at hotels and other accommodation places among EU Member States - almost 90%, showed a survey of Eurostat, released on Monday.

According to data of the National Statistical Institute (NSI), the number of overnights spent in Bulgaria in August 2012 were around 4.8 million, out of which 3.5 million were those of foreigners. Around 1 million vacationers, out of whom 780,000 foreigners, were accommodated in our country during the most attractive month of the summer holiday season. Revenues from these overnights stood at around BGN 200 mln, out of which BGN 158 mln from foreigners.

Nearly 5 million people, half of whom foreigners, stayed at Bulgarian hotels and accommodation places throughout 2011, showed NSI’s data. Revenues from those overnights exceeded BGN 730 mln, out of which BGN 520 mln were revenues from foreigners.

Countries lagging behind Bulgaria in Eurostat’s ranking of the occupancy rate of accommodation places are: Cyprus, with a 77.4% occupancy rate, Malta (75.7%) and even the UK (72%) which hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics. Even traditionally well-developed tourist destinations, such as France and Spain, reported an occupancy rate of accommodation places of 70% and 60%, respectively.

Source: klassa.bg