The first group of 74 foreign tourists for the new summer season arrived at Bourgas airport aboard a low-cost Sterling airlines plane from Copenhagen on March 30.

After receiving a hearty welcome at the airport, they continued to their destination, the Slunchev Bryag (Sunny Beach) resort.

To date, Bourgas airport has contracts with 63 air companies, eight of them launching flights for the first time this eyar - Air Berlin, Air Mediterranee, Air Baltic Corporation, Edelweissair, Latcharter Airlines, Swiss Sun, Seagle Air and Lviv Airlines.

The airport has posted a 16 per cent rise in the number of flights booked since the turn of the year, compared with the same period in 2007, Bourgas city hall said. Airport officials forecast a tangible hike in the number of tourists coming from Russia, Czech Republic, UK and Germany.