8 May 2008 | Bulgarians headed to Greece en masse over the spring holidays, with a total number who visited the country reaching about 32,000 people, media of the two countries reported recently.

In the meantime, only 12,000 people stayed in Bulgarian hotels, according to Rumen Draganov, head of the Institute for Analysis and Evaluations in Tourism and a member of the National Tourism Board.

Bulgarians’ two most favoured Greek destinations were Thessaloniki and the Chalkidiki Peninsula, because of their proximity to Bulgaria.

However, the trip from Sofia to Thessaloniki, which usually lasts no more than four hours by car, was significantly prolonged by the heavy road traffic and the long lines at the border.

A BalkanTravellers.com team found that on May 1, going through Kulata – the main border crossing point between the two countries, took around two hours. A couple of rows of cars and buses, moving just a few metres at a time, stretched over more than 2 kilometres down the one-lane road that led up to the border control points.

In Thessaloniki, Bulgarian was spoken by roaming tourists at virtually every street corner, sea-front café and store. Overall, Bulgarians spend 6 million euro in Greece over the five-day holiday, the daily 24 Chassa newspaper reported.

Both May 1, Labour Day, and May 6, St. George Day and the Day of the Bulgarian Army, are national holidays. This year they fell on a Thursday and a Tuesday respectively, making for a six-day nation-wide vacation, which compelled many Bulgarians to take a short trip abroad, immediately following the Eastern Orthodox Easter.

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