Romania’s seaside is 245 km long; we have 134 national parks and 13 natural reservations that cover 7% of the country’s surface; one third of Europe’s natural springs are located in Romania; 30 monuments are in the UNESCO patrimony; we have 6,600 monuments of national importance and over 670 museums; in Romania, there are 5,560 accommodation facilities but, unfortunately, 70% have two stars or less; 56% of the accommodation places are at the seaside; only 25% of the hotels are five-star hotels. Despite all this patrimony, why is the Romanian tourism experiencing a crisis?Romania, economic crisis, tourism.

Adriana MANOLICA

Teodora ROMAN

English

Research Papers in Economics

         Special Number 1/2011                         Review of International Comparative Management  418 
 
ROMANIAN TOURISM  
IN THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CRISIS 
 
 
Adriana MANOLICĂ 
Teodora ROMAN 
„Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University, Iaşi, Romania 
 
 
 
  International tourism in the current economic crisis  
 
The  crisis  effects  have  been  felt  back  in  2009,  a  year  that  brought  the 
decrease of all the indicators of the international tourism. A report of the World 
Tourism  Organisation  (UNWTO)  for  2009  shows  that,  at  a  worldwide  level, 
international  tourism  had  a  4.2%  decrease  due  to  the  crisis,  to  a  number  of  
880 million foreign tourists last year. 52.3% of them visited Europe, 20.6% visited 
Asia-Pacific, 15.9% visited the two Americas, whereas 6% and 5.2%, respectively, 
visited the Middle East and Africa.  
The state of foreign tourist entries, that is, of the incomes, represents an 
important  comparative  analysis  indicator  for  each  country’s  achievement. 
Strangely  enough,  this  report  does  not  give  information  about  Romania.  The 
relevant numbers for the national tourism can be taken from the statistics done by 
the  National  Institute  for  Statistics  and  by  the  Romanian  National  Bank.  Thus, 
according to the National Institute for Statistics, there were 1,275 million foreign 
tourists in touristic accommodations in 2009. The data from the Romanian National 
Bank regarding the balance of payments from tourism shows an income of 882 
million euro in 2009 (approx. 1.2 billion dollars).  
Although  comparisons  with  countries  such  as  France,  Spain,  Austria, 
Turkey,  Greece  or  Italy  seem  to  be  inconvenient,  the  data  shows  the  gap  that 
Romania must recover in order to reach an adequate exploitation of this resource. 
Table 1 shows a series of European and non-European states that have remarkable 
results even during the current crisis.  
  World tourism made a strong recovery this year, after the global financial 
crisis, the highest increase being in Asia and the Middle East, according to the 
ABSTRACT 
Romania’s seaside is 245 km long; we have 134 national parks and 13 natural 
reservations that cover 7% of the country’s surface; one third of Europe’s natural 
springs are located in Romania; 30 monuments are in the UNESCO patrimony; we 
have 6,600 monuments of national importance and over 670 museums; in Romania, 
there are 5,560 accommodation facilities but, unfortunately, 70% have two stars or 
less; 56% of the accommodation places are at the seaside; only 25% of the hotels are 
five-star hotels. Despite all this patrimony, why is the Romanian tourism experiencing 
a crisis? Review of International Comparative Management                              Special Number 1/2011  419 
same  source  –  the  World  Tourism  Organisation  (UNWTO).  The  international 
arrivals – 421 million during the first 6 months of 2010 – brought a 7% increase as 
compared to the same period last year, which means a 2% decrease comparing with 
the record reached in 2008. This period’s minimum was reached in April, when the 
European aerial space was affected by the eruption of the volcano in Iceland, but 
the results could be noticed in May and June. The UNWTO report shows that “the 
tourism increase was positive in all the regions of the world, supported by a solid 
achievement of the emergent markets, which had a 8% increase, compared to a 6% 
increase of the developed markets”.  
 
Table 1 Total number of foreign tourists entries/Incomes in 2009 
 
No.  Country  Foreign tourists entries 
(mil. people) 
Incomes from foreign 
tourists (billion $) 
1  Austria  21  19,4 
2  Belgium  7  9,8 
3  Bulgaria  5,739  3,72 
4  Czech Republic  6,12  6,5 
5  Cyprus  2,1  2,1 
6  Croatia  9,3  8,88 
7  Switzerland  8,3  14 
8  France  74,2  49,4 
9  Greece  15  14,5 
10  Ireland  7  4,9 
11  Israel  2,3  3,6 
12  Italy  43,2  40,25 
13  Netherlands  10  12 
14  Poland  11,89  9 
15  Spain  52  53 
16  Sweden   4,8  12 
17  Turkey  25  21,25 
18  Hungary  9  5,63 
  (source: www.unwto.org)  
   
Romanian tourism achievements during the crisis  
 
  Romania  attracted  in  2009  almost  five  times  less  foreign  tourists  than 
Bulgaria and received over three times less money from this resource, and the gap 
is  even  bigger  when  compared  to  other  countries  such  as  Hungary,  the  Czech 
Republic  or  Poland,  given  that  this  financial  crisis  affected  the  entire  world. 
Although UNWTO announced a worldwide recovery of tourism in 2010, Romania 
does not follow the global trend.  
  During the  first 8 months of 2010, compared to the same period  of the 
previous year, the arrivals and the nights spent in touristic accommodations had a 
3.7 and 10.8% decrease, respectively. Thus, there were 4,109 million arrivals to the 
tourist accommodations, and 10,889 million nights spent there. The index showing 
the  net  usage  of  the  accommodation  places  from  January  through  August  was          Special Number 1/2011                         Review of International Comparative Management  420 
25.5% for all tourist accommodations, that is, a 3.8% decrease compared to the 
same period of the previous year.  
  There were 5,192 million arrivals of foreign visitors to Romania recorded 
at  the  customs,  meaning  a  0.1%  decrease.  Most  foreign  visitors  come  from 
European countries (94.8%). 60.3% of the foreign citizens arrivals were from the 
European Union states. Most of the arrivals from the European Union states were 
from:  Hungary  (38.8%),  Bulgaria  (16.8%),  Germany  (8.8%),  Italy  (7.1%)  and 
Poland (5.9%). During the first eight months of the year there were 7,534 million 
departures of Romanian citizens going abroad, recorded at the customs, meaning a 
7.8% decrease.  
  A  classification  established  by  the  National  Institute  for  Statistics  that 
considered  the  period  from  June  2009  through  June  2010  shows  the  Constanţa 
county occupying the second position from the point of view of tourist entries, after 
Bucharest,  which  was  visited  by  986,106  tourists  during  the  same  period.  The 
biggest flow of visitors was in August 2009, with a total of 278,659 arrivals. In 
June 2010 there were 22% less tourists at the seaside compared to the same period 
of the previous year.  
 
  Solutions for the Romanian tourism  
 
  Niche tourism needs to be more and more highlighted to the detriment of 
mass tourism. Specialists say that, currently, in our country 95% of the tourism is 
mass tourism and that only 5% is niche tourism. In Romania, this quite poorly 
exploited segment could represent an attraction for foreigners, in fields such as 
cultural trips, nature tourism, rural tourism, active and adventure tourism, balneary 
and wellness tourism city-break packages and weekend tourism. 
 
  Cultural trips 
  Cultural  inheritance  is,  why  not,  a  tourist  attraction  itself.  Besides  the  
30  monuments  that  are  part  of  the  UNESCO  patrimony,  we  have  6,600  other 
monuments of national importance and over 670 museums. Some of them could be 
included  in  these  cultural  trips.  We  can  already  experience  an  increase  in  the 
demand for religious trips as a form of tourism. This is the only domain that has 
not been affected by the crisis. There are two main pilgrimages in Romania: the 
one to Iaşi, on Saint Parascheva’s Day, which begins on the 14
th of October and 
lasts for a week, and the one to Bucharest, which also lasts for a week, starting on 
the  27
th  October,  on  Saint  Dimitrie  Basarabov  Day.  According  to  suppositions, 
each of them attracts approximately one million believers.  
  The wine and food tourism, much too little exploited in Romania, could 
also  be  included  in  the  cultural  tourism.  The  Wine  Road  was  made  during  
2000-2004 and it includes Valea Călugărească, Urlaţi and Tohani, and other towns 
or villages renowned for the wine production. This road goes through 13 villages 
and  all  through  the  road  tourists  can  stop  over.  Nevertheless,  the  Romanian 
vineyards are far too little known abroad, and, in the same way, the Romanian 
kitchen  failed  to  promote  many  unique  specialties,  which  would  represent  real 
long-lasting competition advantages on the food tourism market.  Review of International Comparative Management                              Special Number 1/2011  421 
  Tourism  companies  in  Austria  and  Germany  organise  cruises  on  the 
Danube river, but they do not stop on the Romanian shore because they do not have 
the proper facility.  
 
  Nature and rural tourism  
  There are  more and  more tourists requesting this type  of tourism. They 
want to see the untouched nature or popular traditions. Accommodation in the tent 
or in a rural household will do for them. But, due to their wish to attract more and 
more customers, rural households expand and they are more and more far away 
from the authentic rural style which actually attracts the tourists. Thus, in a short 
period of time, this thread can become extinct: tourists are not interested in PVC 
window profiles or concrete walls. They want to take photos of genuine gates from 
Maramureş, not of automatically controlled gates.  
 
  Active and adventure tourism  
  Despite the crisis, the adventure tourism, which many times means having a 
backpack,  sleeping  in  the  tent  and  much  physical  work,  is  a  developing  niche. 
People who love adventure spent approximately 89 billion dollars last year globally 
for extreme experiences. Our country is on the 92
nd position out of 192 countries in 
the classification  of the  most attractive  destinations for adventure tourism, after 
countries like Zambia, Armenia, Yemen, Belarus, Iran, Mali, Oman, Mongolia or 
Sudan. Bulgaria occupies the honourable 7
th position.  
  The  study  made  by  the  Adventure  Travel  Trade  Association  from  the 
George Washington University, USA, classifies the 192 world countries according 
to the opportunities offered for extreme experiences, from mountain bike to rafting, 
paragliding or canoe, taking into account several factors, from security and culture 
to  tourism  infrastructure  and  hospitality,  and  including  the  protection  of  the 
environment. According to this study, the average cost of such a holiday varies 
globally between 450 and 800 dollars, and the average age of the tourist is 36, 
contrary to what one would expect.  
 
Table 2 The most wanted destinations for adventure tourism 
 
Top 10 – developed countries  Top 10 – developing countries 
1 – Island  1 – Slovakia 
2 – Switzerland  2 – Israel 
3 – New Zealand  3 – Czech Republic 
4 – Finland  4 – Estonia 
5 – Australia  5 – Slovenia 
6 – Great Britain  6 – Chile 
7 – Luxemburg  7 – Bulgaria 
8 – Germany  8 – Latvia 
9 – Ireland  9 – Botswana 
10 – Spain  10 – Lithuania 
(study made by Adventure Travel Trade Association from George Washington University, SUA, 
published in March 2009)  
          Special Number 1/2011                         Review of International Comparative Management  422 
  Romania has a huge potential for this form of tourism. For those willing to 
experience tough sensations, there is always mountain climbing, an adventure on 
the  river,  meaning  a  day  of  rafting,  a  4-7-day  trip  by  bicycle  in  the  woods  of 
Bucegi or Făgăraşi, or visiting the caves. Bungee dumping is also one of the offers. 
In  our  country  you  can  practice  it  in  the  Postăvaru  Mountain  –  the  Râşnoava 
opening, and in Făgăraşi – the Vidraru lake.  
 
  Balneary and wellness tourism  
  One  third  of  the  natural  springs  in  Europe  are  located  in  Romania. 
Unfortunately, the bathing resorts in the West  of the country lose thousands  of 
tourists yearly because they failed at developing the services. The tourist resorts 
recommended for their baths are almost empty during the low season because the 
indoor  hot-water  swimming  pools  are  missing.  What  happens  is  that  tourism 
hibernates six months a year.  
  At a few scores of kilometres away from the Felix Baths, the  Buziaş or 
Lipova Baths, across the border, in  Hungary, the thermal resorts are full  every 
weekend. The Hungarian swimming pools succeed to attract thousands of tourists 
from Romania, who pay for leisure and fun services. We are part of the same basin 
of thermal waters, we have almost the same geography, and the economic power of 
people  in  Eastern  Hungary  equals  the  economic  power  in  Western  Romania. 
Nevertheless, our neighbours found a successful business model. They understood 
the customer needs, from children to adults and aged people, and they developed 
the services area.  
 
  City-break packages and week-end tourism  
  Due to the changes in the holiday consumer patterns (at a global level), this 
type of mini-holidays draws more and more attention. The requests for this are first 
of all for capital cities, and after that for other points of interest. Thus, Bucharest 
receives the highest number of tourists, the Capital being visited by over a million 
Romanian and foreign tourists. In order to adapt to the crisis, hotel owners were 
forced to cut tariffs. Therefore, according to the price index given by Trivago, in 
Bucharest this year the tariffs had a 34% decrease – among the highest decreases in 
Europe. According to the index, that takes into account the accommodation tariffs 
in 50 most important European cities, the only Eastern markets that recorded an 
increase were Istanbul (8%) and Cracow (7%). Nevertheless, 40 of the 50 cities 
that were monitored have lower tariffs now than they had in September 2009.  
  Braşov, the Prahova Valley and Sibiu are among the first favourite places 
of the visitors. During one year, the Bran castle recorded 196,238 tourists. The 
capital  city  and  the  seaside  occupy  the  first  two  positions  in  the  national 
classification regarding the number of tourists during the last year. Counties such 
as Olt, Teleorman or Călăraşi occupy the last positions.  
  Weekend tourism is a branch of mass tourism. It becomes more and more 
widespread, being the solution of Romanian people with average to low income, 
who cannot afford to travel to a foreign country because of the financial situation 
or lack of time.  Review of International Comparative Management                              Special Number 1/2011  423 
  Another type of tourism is conference tourism. The demand for events such 
as conferences or congresses is constant, and hotels that have special conference 
rooms and provided them with all the necessary equipment cannot but win.  
    
  Tourism is one of the most dynamic domains of the economy. Romania 
must  place  its  offer  on  the  world  touristic  map  and  adapt  to  more  and  more 
demanding tourists. A study made on eight target markets (Germany, Great Britain, 
Italy,  Russia,  Austria,  USA,  France  and  Hungary)  show  that  they  have 
approximately 170 million tourists that travel abroad, and 40% of them are willing 
to visit Romania. What they would like to find here: landscapes and nature, local 
culture and history or lifestyle.  
  If increasing the incomes from tourism is one of our priorities, then we 
should re-think this priority as a long-term investment.  
 
  This  work  was  supported  from  the  European  Social  Fund  through 
Sectoral Operational Programme Human Resources Development 2007-2013, 
project  number  POSDRU/1.5/S/59184  „Performance  and  excellence  in 
postdoctoral research in Romanian economics science domain” 
 
 
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Jaume Rosselló, Honggen Xiao, “Global Economic Crisis and Tourism: Consequences and Perspectives”,

Romanian Tourism in the Current Economic Crisis

http://rmci.ase.ro/no12vol1s/Vol-12_No-1S_Article-64.pdf

Romanian Tourism in the Current Economic Crisis

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