A total of 4.01 million were the tourists in Bulgaria in 2004 representing a share of 1% of the tourists visiting Europe. Their number increased by approximately 14% compared to the number of tourists in 2003, the Economy Ministry informed. Most of them came from Greece (707 000), Macedonia (656 000), Serbia and Montenegro (577 000), Germany (565 000), the UK (259 000) and Russia (121 000). The data shows a 24% growth in the number of tourists from EU countries (no new member stats are included). Holiday-makers to Bulgaria occupy nearly 450 000 beds annually according to Deputy Economy Minister Dimitar Hadzhinikolov. Revenues of Bulgarian tourism recorded EUR 1.7 B in 2004 with foreign tourism turnover amounting to EUR 2.4 B. Over the last three years the number of foreign tourists has increased by 50% and the foreign currency income has marked a leap of 70%. Over EUR 500 M have been invested in the tourism sector since 2000 and approximately 90% of private investments are of Bulgarian origin. In general nearly 7 million foreigners visited Bulgaria in 2004 as per the statistics and the number went up by 12% as compared to 2003. Over a million stays in hotels were registered in Sofia only in 2004 according to data released by the Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association. In 2003 these were 970 000 and in 2002 – 640 000. The number of hotels in the Bulgarian capital was respectively 86 and 62.
