More and more Romanians are choosing the Bulgarian coast for their holidays in 2026, against the backdrop of tensions in the Middle East and uncertainties in international tourism. Travel agencies say sales are up as much as 30 percent compared to last year, and Bulgaria is promoting itself as a safe and affordable destination.
In the current international context, Bulgaria can become one of the main holiday destinations for Romanian tourists. “Bulgaria intelligently takes advantage of the current geopolitical situation, positioning itself as a safe, stable and predictable destination – a direction that, strategically, Romania should also strengthen. At a time when tourists are looking for tranquility, easy access and controlled costs, the Bulgarian coast ticks all these criteria”, said tourism consultant Traian Bădulescu, according to Click!.
Resorts such as Albena, Nisipurile de Aur, Sunny Beach or Obzor are among the most sought after, due to easy access by car, all inclusive services and good value for money.
Record number of Romanian tourists
Interest in the Bulgarian coast was growing as early as 2025. “The number of overnight stays by Romanian tourists in Bulgarian accommodation facilities reached almost one million in 2025, an advance of 8.5% compared to 2024. It is the highest number of tourists from Romania ever recorded and indicates a remarkable increase of 51.2% compared to the level of 2019, before the pandemic“, declared in January the Bulgarian Minister of Tourism, Miroslav Borsos, quoted by Agerpres.
Many Romanians fear that Bulgaria’s transition to the euro will lead to price increases, but experts say that the increases are limited. “The rates for the 2026 season have been announced since 2025 through travel agencies, and the increases applied are in line with the inflation rate already estimated last year. Practically, we are not talking about additional increases generated by the currency change”, explains Traian Badulescu.
According to travel agencies, prices are generally up to 10% higher than last year.
“Sales are 30% higher”
Lucian Badîrcea, CEO of IRI Travel, says that interest in Bulgaria has grown noticeably. “In terms of fares, for the most part prices have remained at the level of last season or have increased in line with the inflation rate, up to 10%. (…) tourists are quickly orienting themselves, in the context of the war in the Middle East, to the destinations of proximity”he declared.
For some Bulgarian seaside resorts, sales are already 20–30% higher than in 2025.
Big discounts on early bookings
Denisa Oprea, Marketing Director of Hello Holidays, says that many bookings have been made since the Early Booking period. “We have eight weekly charter flights to Bulgaria in the 2026 season (…) with a fairly high level of occupancy at the moment”, she stated.
Discounts for early bookings even reached 45% for hotels in resorts such as Albena, Golden Sands, Sveti Vlas, Nessebar or Obzor.
“For the most part, our tourists want beach holidays, with all inclusive, and a duration of seven nights”explained the representative of the agency.
However, not all agencies confirm the increase in sales. “They are more expensive. We have a decrease in sales in Bulgaria, from the beginning of the year until now (…) But it is clear that the Bulgarians have higher tariffs. They switched to the euro and it rounded in their favor”, said Adrian Voican, vice president of ANAT.
Even so, specialists say that the Bulgarian coast remains one of the most accessible and popular holiday options for Romanians in 2026.
