Russian tourists are flocking to the Bulgarian Black Sea coast in greater numbers as "an increase of interest" is being reported by Russian tour operators.

In June 2010, about 72 000 Russian tourists came to Bulgaria, 23.9 per cent more than in June 2009, Dnevnik daily said on August 5 2010.

"According to our current calculations, sales have gone up by between 20 and 25 per cent. An increase in interest for Bulgaria is also reported by other tour operators, not just our firm," Elena Andrievskaya, head of the ICS Travel department for Bulgaria, told Dnevnik.

She said that although 60 per cent of the firm's clients visit the north Bulgarian coast, there was also an increasing number of inquiries and applications for the south coast as well, particularly the Dyuni resort.

Another tour operator, Solvex, also accounted for a surge of applications from 20 up to 30 per cent this summer, while "all packages for August already have been sold".

The reason why Russian tourists are attracted by Bulgaria's summer delights this year, according to the report, is that local hoteliers have not raised their prices from last season. Additionally, the Bulgarians had extended the period in which the Russians were able to book preliminary packages for their hotels.

Bulgarian tour operators said that most Russians were attracted to hotels "om the front line" as in, close to the sea front. They were also attracted predominantly by packages that offered "all inclusive" deals.