The management of Travel Planner, the online travel platform in Romania for holidays in Bulgaria, estimates that the transition to the euro could increase prices by approximately 5–10 percent this spring for the upcoming holiday season in Bulgaria. The increase will be driven by higher prices that hotels will pay in 2026 for supply, utilities, and workforce.
Romanians who choose Bulgaria for their summer holidays prefer the resorts Golden Sands, Albena, Sunny Beach, and St. Constantine and Helena, but over the past two years there has been growing interest in Sveti Vlas due to its new, premium hotels.
The prices for a one-week seaside holiday in Bulgaria in the summer of 2026 currently range between 170 and 1,100 euros per person. Thus, a seven-night holiday at a premium (5-star) hotel in Bulgaria at the beginning of July 2026 costs between 550 and 1,100 euros per person, depending on the chosen option (bed and breakfast, half board, or all-inclusive). At a superior hotel (4–5 stars), prices range between 440 and 1,000 euros per person, according to Travel Planner data. A week at a hotel in the “convenient” category (generally 4 stars) costs between 250 and 1,000 euros, while at a hotel in the “for everyone” category (3–4 stars), prices vary from 170 to 700 euros.
“For next season, we have already seen a 5–10 percent price increase since autumn, and a similar rise may occur in spring. So, hoteliers may apply two rounds of price increases. If there are two rounds of increases, we believe the average price growth for next year could reach 7–15 percent, although it is possible that some hotels will choose not to raise prices in spring – each hotel will calculate based on inflation, expectations, and will either absorb the increase or apply additional adjustments. But many expect higher costs from suppliers, food, utilities, and workforce, and all of this will be reflected in prices. This is why we recommend that tourists purchase their packages during the early-booking period to avoid a potential new price increase in spring, and also because they can now choose from a much wider variety of offers,” said Sebastian Constantinescu, founder and CEO of Travel Planner.
Travel Planner is an online travel company and platform founded in 2007, which recorded sales of 30 million euros in 2024, and for this year the company’s management expects similar revenues. The company offers holidays in Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, but it is specialized for Bulgaria, having served over 500,000 clients for stays in the neighboring country over its 18 years of activity.
Romanians – first place among tourists in Bulgaria, ahead of visitors from Germany, Poland, Greece, and the Czech Republic
Between May and October this year, Bulgaria attracted approximately 2.5 million tourists from the EU, with Romanians accounting for 31 percent of them, according to data from The National Statistics Institute of Bulgaria. In August alone, Romanians represented almost 43 percent (around 360,000 people) of EU tourists visiting Bulgaria, this being the month with the most foreign visitors (around 845,000). Thus, Romanians are in first place among tourists in Bulgaria, the text places being contested month by month by tourists from Germany, Poland, Greece, and the Czech Republic.
“About 80–85 percent of tourists choose seaside resorts, while the rest visit Sofia, the Veliko Tarnovo region, or the mountain resorts. We believe that the early-booking period – between November and February – is the best time for reservations, because that is when tourists can choose their preferred hotel and pay a much lower price. This is when hotels offer discounts, and good hotels sell out quickly. We expect that in 2026, due to the economic situation, Romanians will consider Bulgaria the most attractive destination in Europe and will choose it over countries such as Greece and Turkey. For the early-booking period, we have launched services such as booking with a 50-euro deposit and the rest payable in 2026, installment payment, the possibility of worry-free cancellation up to seven days before the holiday, and protection in case children get sick by offering a voucher for unused accommodation days,” added the Travel Planner founder.
