The number of trips of Bulgarian residents abroad increased by 11.4% year-on-year in March, reaching 354,700, the state statistical office NSI announced on 27 April.

Travel for the purposes of education, visiting friends and relatives, and attending cultural and sports events made up 48% of all trips of Bulgarian residents abroad last month, the NSI said in a monthly statistical survey.  

Trips for holiday-making and recreation purposes made up 26.2% of the total number, while the share of trips for business and other professional purposes was 25.8%.

In comparison with March 2015, an increase was registered in the number of trips in all groups. Trips for holiday-making and recreation purposes were up 33.7%, trips for other purposes rose by 7.1%, while travel for business and other professional purposes increased by 1.9%.

The number of visits of foreign residents to Bulgaria also increased in March, compared with the same month of 2015, the NSI said.

A total of 395,000 trips of foreign visitors were registered last month, an annual increase of 6.6%.

In March 2016, the visits for the purposes of education, visiting friends and relatives, and attending cultural and sports events, as well as short-term stay by transit passengers were 42.2%, followed by trips for holiday-making and recreation purposes (38.7%) and business trips (19.1%).

Trips for holiday-making and recreation purposes increased by 10.9%, year on year, trips for the purposes of education, visiting friends and relatives, and attending cultural and sports events increased by 7.3%, while trips for business and professional purposes dropped by 2.3%

Visits of ЕU citizens made up 45.5% of the total number of foreign residents’ trips to Bulgaria in March, up by 5.7 points in comparison with the same month of 2015.