Share of tourism in the Bulgarian Economy:

Bulgaria is a small country with a not so well developed economy, because of various political
and economic problems. There are industries, though, in which Bulgaria is ahead of many other
European states, and tourism is one of them. While being small in land, the country possesses
numerous touristic landmarks that a country twice as big probably does not. Some of the many
factors for the advanced sector are the thousands years of history, favourable climate, beautiful
nature, cheap prices, etc. Firstly, tourists of Bulgaria are called both domestic and foreign
visitors. However, one of them exceed the others more than three times, as the outlanders are
76.7% compared to only 23.3% Bulgarians (World Travel and Tourism Council, 2017). The
mentioned above data shows that most of the income in the touristic sector comes from
foreigners, which is essential for the growth of the Bulgaria’s economy.
Furthermore, the purposes of every single travel are different, whether it is a holiday with
friends or family, or even a business trip combining work and pleasure. According to a report
from 2017 of the World Travel and Tourism Council the leisure travel has generated 74.1% of
the tourism’s share in the gross domestic product (GDP), in contrast to 25.9% from business
travels.
Another segment of the economy, in the tourism, is the employment, which is a key factor for
the growth and positive development of Bulgaria. This industry generates labour for many
people, no matter their age. Records show that for 2017 the employment is around 100 000
people with the great tendency to grow with approximately 48 000 workplaces in the next year
(Mihaylov, 2017). A characteristic of a job in the touristic sector is that it is well paid, because of
the big amount of work in high seasons, which however, does not stop people from wanting to
work in this industry.
Last and most important is the total contribution of tourism in the country’s GDP. The
government is the one, who makes up strategies for a more prosperous sector. Until recently
Bulgaria was known as a destination for budget tourism, however the new aim is to invest in the
quality of the services, i.e. more luxury hotels in order to change the touristic vision of Bulgaria.
(TUI Group, 2017). In addition, this strategy already gives results in numbers. From several years
there is a rise in the total GDP of Bulgaria, as for 2017 it was 3.6% and the forecast for the next
year is to rise to 4.8%.