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[Danko Bananko]

Bulgaria's main competitors in tourism were Turkey, Greece and Spain, State Agency for Tourism (SAT) research showed.

When questioned where they would go if they had not arrived in Bulgaria, 17 per cent of the tourists in the research said in Turkey, SAT head Anelia Kroushkova told Focus news agency. Greece, Spain, Croatia, Romania, Italy and Egypt were the next most preferred destinations.

These countries are our competitors in the class of tourism we develop, she said.

SAT's research showed the satisfaction rating had not changed over the past few years.

Common opinion in Bulgaria was that tourism was worsening, but the indexes showed something different, Kroushkova said.

Of tourists who have come to Bulgaria more than once, 6.1 per cent said the tourist product had become worse.
These tourists were not likely to return, Kroushkova said.

Of foreign tourists, 68 per cent said they preferred to spend their vacation resting on the beach, followed by shopping and sightseeing. Nearly 31 per cent of the tourists, mainly from Balkan countries, said that they liked reading and watching TV.

Nearly 86 per cent of the foreigners who come to Bulgaria came as tourists. Most of them learned about the country form friends, Kroushkova said.