Bulgaria's tourism market represents an important sector for the country and economy. Accession to the European Union has driven demand for tourism in Bulgaria and improved hotels and other facilities, with greater affordability, accessibility and increased exposure. The National Statistics Institute records 3,533 hotels at the end of 2009, offering a total of 268,000 beds. The official number of hotels in Bulgaria has fluctuated over recent years due to new construction but also existing establishments registering with government bodies and thereby being counted in official figures.

Bulgaria's tourism industry is heavily concentrated in the Black Sea coastal resorts. In 2009 occupancy rates in this specific area dropped dramatically, leading to several hotel closures in an area that had historically been characterised by high construction rates for new hotels. The rapid expansion of tourism in Bulgaria was associated with a reduction in quality of some Bulgarian holidays which resulted in recent declines in the number of visitors from source markets such as the United Kingdom. Underdeveloped infrastructure and a shortage of skilled workers alongside unrestrained hotel construction in some of the country's largest seaside and mountain resorts has impacted on the growth of this industry.

Alernative market segments such as luxury and business hotels, hotel management, spa and recreation centres as well as golf complexes and marinas have the potential or prosperous investment. The building of golf courses, marinas and luxury spa facilities aims to shift a greater percentage of tourists from low revenue package tours into more higher-value alternatives.

In 2011, Bulgaria was listed among the top nine global tourist destinations in a CNN article which has built on recommendations from three travel experts, Robert Reid, US travel editor for Lonely Planet; Pauline Frommer's guidebooks; and Martin Rapp, senior vice president of leisure sales at Altour.

A report in October in 2009 highlighted Bulgaria's tough conditions in the tourist industry with 20% of smaller hotels in Sofia were expected to close by the end of 2009. A total of 47 accommodation establishments at the low-price end of the market submitted notices to close in 2009, with another 12 likely to follow suit. Sofia is expected to lose 800 beds in total or 8% of bed supply.

In 2011, Bulgaria was looking to develop its capabilities in the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions tourism sector. Hilton, Sheraton, Radisson Blu and Kempinski are all present in Bulgaria, operating in the luxurious hotel sector. Best Western International manages a total of eight hotels in Bulgaria. In January 2008, the four-star Metropolitan Hotel opened in Sofia and represents one of Bulgaria's new business hotels, with eight conference rooms and a total capacity of 200 people. Since 2006, Business Hotel Varna became part of the hotel chain Golden Tulip. The Spanish hotel chain Sol Melia has also been on the Bulgarian BlackSea coast for more than five years and it represents a big percentage of the luxury 4- and 5- starbranded hotels.

A number of new entrants have appeared in Bulgaria's hospitality industry as the tourism sector recovers from a downturn in 2009. In August 2010, Rezidor announced it had purchased the Greeenville Hotel and Apartments in Sofia, rebranding the 113-room property as the Park Inn Sofia. Rezidor already operates the Radisson Blu Grand Hotel in the capital. In July 2010, Hilton opened the 196-room Doubletree by Hilton at Varna on the Black Sea. Formerly called the Helios Spa & Resort, the renovated property has a 2,300 square-meter spa and medical centre. Hilton already operates one property in Bulgaria, the 245-room Hilton Sofia. The top class global hotel is represented for the first time on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast and is the first facility of such class in Bulgaria outside of the capital. The new Hilton Garden Inn will also be the only business hotel at the Airport. In addition, Novotel of the French chain Accor is investing in a new hotel which is scheduled to open for January 2012. Accor is investing Euro27.8 million in the construction of this new hotel which will be built in co-operation with local investment company MHQ. Turkish hotel chain Dedeman Hotels & Resorts International is also looking into expanding its Bulgarian operations. In June 2010, there were reports that the Turkish branded hotel chain was seeking to add properties in Bansko and Varna to complement its existing hotels in Plovdiv and Sofia. Other openings in Sofia included the Inter Expo and Congress Centre and 700-seat conference centre at the Sheraton.

The development of Bulgaria's tourism industry is hampered by poor transport and energy infrastructure. In the summer 2010, several blackouts in resort areas due to insufficient capacity caused problems. In August 2010, the National Electric Company was looking for holiday resorts to impose "voluntary restrictions" on electricity consumption.