Bulgaria Registers 18% More Foreign Tourists

The number of visits of foreign tourists in Bulgaria has increased by 18% during the first half of 2008, compared to the same period of last year, according to preliminary data from the National Statistics Institute.The total number of foreign visits in the firs six months of the year has reached 3,193,235 with 1,803,415 of them coming on vacation.The visits of Macedonians have gone up by nearly 70% while does those from Malta by over 63%.Visits from Russia have increased by 30%, those from Germany - by 11% and from Great Britain - by 5%.Visitors from Luxembourg show the least interest in travel in Bulgaria.Among visitors from countries that are not members of the EU, Russians are the ones coming to Bulgaria on vacation the most, followed by Serbians and Macedonians.Israelis are also among those visiting Bulgaria often.