April 30 (SeeNews) - The number of foreign tourists visiting Bulgaria decreased by 43.7% year-on-year in March to 312,800, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said on Thursday.
Citizens of EU member states made up 49.7% of all arrivals of international visitors in March, or 42% less than the number recorded in the like period of 2019, NSI said in a monthly report on tourist numbers.
According to NSI, visits of tourists from Germany dropped by 55.8% in March, followed by tourist visits from France, which decreased by 54.6%.
People who visited friends or relatives in Bulgaria or just transited the country made up 53.6% of all foreign tourist visits during the month, while vacation trips accounted for 27.1%.
Business trips accounted for 19.3% of all visits by foreign nationals in March.
Most foreign visitors to Bulgaria came from Turkey, Romania and Greece in the third month of 2020.
As of March 13, Bulgaria is in a state of emergency imposed over the coronavirus pandemic. During the state of emergency, Bulgaria banned the entry of citizens from 15 countries severely affected by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, including Germany, Italy, Spain, France and Great Britain.
The state of emergency is expected to last until May 13.