Travel Prices Abroad: Industry Denies Any Significant Increase

Questions have arisen over rising prices for foreign travel packages, with some viewers reporting cases of apparent doubling. For example, a March trip to Egypt was said to have jumped from 1,200 leva to 1,200 euros. Tour operator associations have denied such extreme increases.

According to data from the National Statistical Institute, package travel abroad has increased by 9% year-on-year compared with January last year. The association Union Future for Tourism considers claims of 100% price hikes to be exaggerated.

Tsvetomira Nikolaeva, Union Future for Tourism: “There has been no such increase. We observe between 10 and 15% growth in package prices due to global inflation, higher airfare, and increased hotel costs.”

Over the past year, travel to Turkey has risen most sharply — 10–15% — followed by Egypt at 8–10%, Tunisia at 8%, while Italy and Spain remained unchanged.

Nikolaeva: “The increase in trave to Turkey is driven by strong demand from Russia and Western markets over the past five years.”

A Sofia-based tour operator says client numbers have remained stable, although demand has grown for exotic destinations such as the Maldives, Thailand, and Zanzibar, as well as for early bookings.

Valentina Dimova, tour operator: “Bookings start as early as October and continue now. Those reserving during this period can often secure last year’s prices, or only a minimal increase.”

The company stresses that even if operators wished to raise prices significantly, the intense competition — with thousands of agencies and tour operators in Bulgaria — makes this impossible, as customers would simply choose another provider.