Bulgaria's inflation set to drop as outbound travel rises in May 2026

The National Statistical Institute projects Bulgaria's monthly consumer price index to fall by 0.8% in June, marking the first monthly deflation since September 2025 and bringing annual inflation down to an estimated 5.6% after a peak of 6.9% in May. Price drops are expected in transport (‑2.5%), food and non‑alcoholic drinks (‑1.8%) and clothing (‑1.1%), while restaurant and hotel services are projected to rise 1.5%.

In May 2026, Bulgarians made 922,500 trips abroad, a 5.5% increase over the same month a year earlier. The most popular destinations were Turkey (247,100 trips) and Greece (202,400 trips). Overall, 42.5% of outbound travel was for leisure, 39.7% for other purposes and 17.8% for business. The same month saw 1.0218 million foreign visitors to Bulgaria, up 2.4% year‑on‑year, with EU citizens accounting for 60.5% of arrivals; Romanian visitors formed the largest EU group.