Bulgaria's accommodation capacity has increased by five per cent for the second trimester of 2008, compared with the same time a year ago, a study published by the National Statistical Institute (NSI) indicated.

The research provided data for the total number of beds and rooms offered by hotels, motels, lodges, private rooms, holiday villages, cabins and even camp sites. The number of rooms in those accommodations was 105 500, with 234 000 beds.

Availability in hotels has increased by 6.6 per cent, with 91 new hotels open in 2008. In addition, the number of private rooms and other accommodations has been hiked by 4.3 per cent.

NSI also revealed that in 2008, fewer of the bigger hotels have been occupied, with smaller accommodations such as lodges and camp grounds having been preferred by holidaymakers.
Close to 39 per cent of the hotels are located on the Black Sea shore and they offer about 67 per cent of the country's beds. Out of 1477 hotels in Bulgaria, 272 of them are in the Bourgas region, 223 in Varna region and 81 in the Dobrich region.

In the second trimester of 2008, the number of overnight stays in all types of accommodations increased by three per cent (or 128 000), compared with 2007. For the same time period, Bulgarian holidaymakers number two per cent more than they were a year ago.

Foreign tourists from Malta, Latvia and Estonia have marked a significant increase, followed by Croatia, Poland and Slovenia. Fewer holidaymakers from Switzerland, Norway, Sweden and Spain have used accommodations in Bulgaria for 2008.

Most foreign tourists preferred overnight stays in hotels, as opposed to lodges and camp sites, the research showed.