April 29 (SeeNews) - The number of foreign tourists who visited Bulgaria in March jumped 118.1% year-on-year, reaching 627,800 people, the statistical office said on Friday.
Citizens of EU member states accounted for 34.8% of all arrivals of international visitors in the third month of 2022, the National Statistical Institute (NSI) said in a monthly report on tourist numbers.
Citizens of Romania accounted for 37.9% of all visits of foreign tourists from EU member states, followed by Greece with 30.1%.
Arrivals from Turkey formed 36.4% of all visits of tourists from non-EU countries in Europe, followed by Ukraine with 33.4%.
More than 188,000 refugees from Ukraine have entered Bulgaria since February 24 when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, Valeri Ratchev, head of the government-appointed refugee crisis management group, told bTV earlier this month.
The number of people who visited friends or relatives in Bulgaria or just transited the country represented 55.9% of all arrivals of foreign nationals in the month under review. Vacation trips and business trips accounted for 32% and 12.1% of all international visitors' arrivals, respectively.