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Tourism-In-Figures.Pdf CONTENTS NAТ 2014 I. INTRODUCTION II. DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC PROFILE 1 III. TRANSPORT 4 Air, road, railway and city transport IV. ACCOMMODATION 11 Supply, demand, occupancy, Sofia’s position in Bulgaria V. CATERING AND ENTERTAINMENT ESTABLISHMENTS 25 Types and capacity VI. PRICES OF SOME COMMODITIES AND TOURIST SERVICES 28 Comparison of prices in some European capitals VII. MORE ABOUT SOFIA 31 History Culture Nature Sports and leisure activities Discover Sofia Free Walking Tour Pilgrimage tours VIII. GLOSSARY 35 Terms and abbreviations SOFIA TOURISM ADMINISTRATION INTRODUCTION 2014 Ivo Marinov Director, Sofia Tourism Administration The professional qualities of Mr. Ivo Marinov are supported not only by his Master’s Degree in “Economics and Organization of International Tourism” but by his long-life experience in the areas of Economics and Tourism – the Committee for Tourism at the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Commerce and Tourism, the Ministry of Economics, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the State Tourism Agency. From 2009 to 2013 he is Deputy Minister of Foreign Economic Policy and Tourism. Dear consumers, Dear colleagues, Sofia Tourism Administration presents to you the fourth consequent edition of the tourist reference book “Sofia – Tourism in Figures”. I hope that the presented current information be valuable to all representatives of the tourist business, as well as the various institutions and organizations that have interest in this field. It is gratifying that again in 2014 we see a growth in the tourist industry which sets to be a steady trend. The stats of Sofia in the national system of tourism show the considerable contribution of the city for improving the efficiency of the tourist development of the country. Even with considerably low capacity for accommodation (4% of beds), Sofia has a leading position regarding tourism in Bulgaria, especially in regard to overnights revenue (3rd place). Sofia is above the average levels regarding overnights (Sofia – 7.4% growth, Bulgaria – 0.4% growth) and people staying overnight (Sofia – 7.1% growth, Bulgaria – 1.7% growth). In 2014, 967 399 tourist visited Sofia, accounting for 1 726 379 overnight stays. This means a 7.1% increase in the number of tourists and a 7.4% in the overnights; 61% of all tourists who visited the capital are foreigners. It is delightful that in 2014 Sofia was in top 10 of some world-famous charts: the readers of the British daily paper the Guardian placed Sofia in 7th place of the most desired city break destinations; in the „Value for Money Index 2014” chart of hotel.info reservation site the hotels in Sofia were placed in 8th place with the best price-quality ratio, remaining ahead of Vienna, Madrid, Zagreb and Bucharest. The American informational website “The Huffington Post” placed Sofia among the 17 places to visit and the Sofia Synagogue was placed in top 20 most beautiful temples in the world according to the authoritative Architectural Digest. In 2014 Sofia received important international awards, as well. It was awarded European Capital of Sport for 2018 and in December 2014 was chosen among five other cities as a UNESCO Creative City of Film. All these awards are joyful, as well as engaging. That is why Sofia Tourism Administration works towards strengthening Sofia’s position as a competitive European tourist destination by raising the attractiveness of the city for both its citizens and visitors. SOFIA TOURISM ADMINISTRATION DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC PROFILE 2014 Residents District % (number) 1 Lyulin 114 813 8,9 2 Serdica 46 949 3,6 DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE 3 Krasno Selo 83 552 6,5 Triaditsa 63 451 4,9 4 Area: 492, 092 sq. km. 5 Mladost 102 899 8 Sofia occupies 6.9% of the whole area of the 6 Novi Iskar 28 991 2,2 District of Sofia, which has a territory of 7,059 7 Oborishte 31 060 2,4 sq. km or 6.4% of the area of the country 8 Ovcha Kupel 54 417 4,2 (Bulgaria: 110,994 sq. km). 9 Ilinden 33 236 2,6 Population: 1,292,591 (NSI figures according to 10 Iskar 63 248 4,9 2011 census) 11 Krasna Polyana 58 234 4,5 By the end of 2013 the population of the 12 Lozenets 53 080 4,1 capital city numbered 1,309,634, accounting Nadezhda 67 905 5,3 for 84.5% of the population of Sofia region and 13 18,1% of the population of Bulgaria, according 14 Sredets 32 423 2,5 to NSI stats. The said number is to go up to 15 Poduyane 76 672 5,9 1,314,036 by 2015, referring to a realistic and 16 Studentski 71 961 5,6 EU-consistent convergence hypothesis variant. Sofia is divided in 24 administrative districts. 17 Bankya 12 136 0,9 18 Izgrev 30 896 2,4 19 Kremikovtsi 23 641 1,8 20 Vrabnitsa 47 969 3,7 21 Vitosha 61 467 4,8 22 Pancharevo 28 586 2,2 23 Slatina 66 702 5,2 24 Vazrazhdane 37 303 2,9 TOTAL: 1 291 591 100 Reference source: NSI, 2011 Sofia districts SOFIA TOURISM ADMINISTRATION 1 DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC PROFILE 2014 ECONOMIC PROFILE Employed persons – 2014 According to 2014 NSI figures, the average registered number of persons employed under contract of employment or ex-officio in the capital city is 703.3 thousand. According to Sofia Tourism Administration figures 35 342 persons are employed at accommodation establishments and catering and еntertainment establishments, licensed and rated by the Mayor of Sofia Municipality for 2014. Number of people employed in the hotel, restaurant and catering sector in the territory of Sofia Municipality in 2014 by districts Total employed at People employed accommodation restaurants, establishments, catering People employed restaurants, and entertainment at accommodation catering and establishments establishments District entertainment establishments for 2014 Number Number Number Share Share Share of of of % % % people people people 1 Lyulin 1 465 4,1 1 453 4,2 12 1,1 2 Serdica 973 2,8 897 2,6 76 6,8 3 Krasno Selo 1 748 4,9 1 711 5,0 37 3,3 4 Triaditsa 3 401 9,6 3 312 9,7 89 8,0 5 Mladost 2 667 7,5 2 619 7,7 48 4,3 6 Novi Iskar 209 0,6 200 0,6 9 0,8 7 Oborishte 2 725 7,7 2 628 7,7 97 8,7 8 Ovcha Kupel 849 2,4 808 2,4 41 3,7 9 Ilinden 647 1,8 647 1,9 0 0,0 10 Iskar 876 2,5 870 2,5 6 0,5 11 Krasna Polyana 355 1,0 355 1,0 0 0,0 12 Lozenets 1 916 5,4 1 885 5,5 31 2,8 13 Nadezhda 871 2,5 866 2,5 5 0,5 14 Sredets 4 745 13,4 4 676 13,7 69 6,2 15 Poduyane 885 2,5 858 2,5 27 2,4 16 Studentski 2 398 6,8 2 362 6,9 36 3,2 17 Bankya 306 0,9 233 0,7 73 6,6 18 Izgrev 898 2,5 888 2,6 10 0,9 19 Kremikovtsi 368 1,0 352 1,0 16 1,4 20 Vrabnitsa 415 1,2 406 1,2 9 0,8 21 Vitosha 2 081 5,9 1 943 5,7 138 12,4 22 Pancharevo 744 2,1 685 2,0 59 5,3 23 Slatina 1 585 4,5 1 481 4,3 104 9,4 24 Vazrazhdane 2 215 6,3 2 097 6,1 118 10,6 TOTAL 35 342 100,0 34 232 100,0 1110 100,0 Reference Source: Sofia Tourism Administration – based on figures indicated in inventories of professional and language qualifications of persons employed at accommodation and catering and entertainment establishments. SOFIA TOURISM ADMINISTRATION 2 DEMOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC PROFILE 2014 Number of persons employed at catering and entertainment establishments in the territory of Sofia Municipality for 2014, by month. 5 000 4 000 3 000 2 000 1 000 0 Reference Source: Sofia Tourism Administration The greatest number of job-holding persons is to be found in the hotel, restaurant, catering and entertainment sector in Sredets district, followed by Triaditsa and Oborishte districts. This is due to the high accumulation of accommodation, catering and entertainment facilities in the downtawn. Regarding the number of job-holding persons at accommodation establishments – leaders are Vitosha (13%) and Vazrazhdane (11%). Number of persons employed at accommodation establishments in the territory of Sofia Municipality for 2014, by month 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Reference Source: Sofia Tourism Administration SOFIA TOURISM ADMINISTRATION 3 TRANSPORT Т 2014 The transportation system in the capital is well developed; it is also a major component of the national transport system. All types of transport, with the notable exception of water transport, are represented in Sofia. AIR TRANSPORT Sofia Airport, Bulgaria’s largest international airport, aggregating over 3 million passengers of incoming and outgoing traffic, is the national air transport hub. In 2014 Sofia Airport serviced a record number of 3 815 158 passengers – 8.9% more that the previous year. The total number of passengers (Bulgarians and foreigners) arriving to Sofia Airport in 2014 was 1 882 650 which is 8,5% up on comparable 2013 figures. NUMBER OF ARRIVALS TO SOFIA AIRPORT OVER 2013 and 2014 2013 2014 4 4 4 /201 /201 /201 3 3 3 ernational ernational Difference Difference Difference 201 201 201 International International Int International International charter flights charter flights charter Domestic flights Domestic flights Domestic scheduled flights scheduled flights scheduled January 102 303 12 890 5 385 110 443 8,0 12 470 -3,3 3 986 -26,0 February 103 704 10 051 4 219 114 080 10,0 8 804 -12,4 4 515 7,0 March 125 252 5 131 4 776 131 068 4,6 4 028 -21,5 5 129 7,4 April 127 084 1 071 6 119 144 792 13,9 1 295 20,9 5 857 -4,3 May 149 101 3 966 7 527 163 155 9,4 5 777 45,7 6 319 -16,0 June 145 052 3 245 9 057 165 856 14,3 3 956 21,9 8 401 -7,2 July 165 918 1 542 11 563 183 694 10,7 1 303 -15,5 10 018 -13,4 August 143 528 1 269 12 963 162 959 13,5 1 347 6,1 12 513 -3,5 September 136 510 5 914 10 192 151 148 10,7 6 450 9,1 8 772 -13,9 October 133 544 3 879 7 382 146 457 9,7 3 158 -18,6 5 993 -18,8 November 116 144 950 5 255 122 460 5,4 890 -6,3 4 950 -5,8 December 135 637 6 101 4 072 145 239 7,1 4 591 -24,8 4 731 16,2 Total 1 583 1 741 number of 56 009 88 510 9,9 54 069 -3,5 81 184 -8,3 777 351 passengers Reference source: Sofia Airport PLC The international scheduled flights were used by 93% of the total year passenger flow.
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