2007-2026 Romania National Tourism Master Plan 2007-2026 PDF

Romania National Tourism
Development Master Plan 2007-2026
Romania National Tourism Master Plan 2007 - 2026
INTRODUCTION
I Background and Objectives
The Romanian Tourism Sector has suffered from the absence of an overall policy to
drive and direct the sector. A Tourism Development Master Plan for Romania was
prepared over a decade ago; however, much to the frustration of stakeholders in the
tourism sector, its recommendations were never implemented. In recent years, technical
support and assistance has been provided by the UNDP and a number of NGOs and
donor agencies including USAID, GTZ, and CHF International for a range of individual
projects (i.e. NTA1 website development, market research, consultancy at local level,
tourist information centre set up). While much of this assistance has undoubtedly
benefited the tourism sector, the implementation of these measures in isolation of an
overall strategic plan for tourism is likely to generate limited results. Furthermore, most
of these agencies will reduce their operations in Romania following the countrys
accession to the EU in January 2007.
In this scenario the Government of Romania identified a Tourism Development Master

Plan as being urgently needed to prepare the foundations for the implementation of a
sustainable approach to tourism development in Romania. It commissioned the United
Nations World Tourism Organisation to undertake its compilation.
This Tourism Development Master Plan covers the twenty year timeframe up to 2026.
Critically, it incorporates a six year action programme (2007-2013) to tie in with the
structural funds, which Romania receives following its accession to the EU in January
2007.
The Immediate Objective is the formulation of an overall policy framework for the
sustainable development and management of the tourism industry in terms of natural
and cultural resources and presented in the form of a long-term Tourism Development
Master Plan covering the period 2007-2026. This Plan is an umbrella policy that
includes various plans and strategies described so as to optimise the sectors
contribution to the national economy. It is anticipated that the people of Romania will
participate in the benefit from the development of the tourism sector which is intended to:
increase foreign exchange earnings;

bring the Romanian economy and society into line with that of existing EU
countries
improvement in the quality of life;
increase and encourage investments in all areas of the tourism sub-sector;
stimulate the creation of employment;
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Throughout the Master Plan the current Government tourism agency, the Tourism Department
of the Ministry for SMEs, Trade, Tourism and Liberal Professions, is referred to by its former
name of National Tourism Authority (NTA). The term National Tourism Organisation (NTO) is
used as a generic term for the institution responsible for the development and marketing of the
country as a tourism destination. NTO is also used as a name for the proposed new format for
the Ministry Tourism Department.
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stimulate development;
foster the enhancement and preservation of cultural heritage;
assist the development and conservation of the physical and natural resources of
the overall country; and
distribute the benefits of tourism throughout all parts of Romania.
II Master Plan Development
The Government of Romania appointed the United Nations World Tourism Organisation
to prepare the Master Plan. UNWTO assembled a team of six international tourism
consultants with specialities in Planning, Marketing, Investment, Statistics, Economics,
Institutional Structures and Human Resource Development. Their work took place over
a six month period between January and July 2007. This team was assisted by a team
of some 20 Romanian specialists and they wish to express their gratitude for the
information, insights and assistance they received from them.
Apart from desk research extensive travel to most parts of the country was undertaken
and consultations held with a numerous public and private sector interests in tourism.
Although these contacts are too numerous to mention their inputs and views were
invaluable.
Action Plan and Implementation
The weakness of previous tourism development strategies has been the failure to
implement the recommendations. The availability of EU Structural Funds for the period
up to 2013 provides a major resource to facilitate the recommendations of the Master
Plan. However, the will to take the Plan forward remains essential. To this end the
recommendations have been incorporated in an Action Plan with identified "lead"
organisations responsible for implementation. Additionally Government has been
requested to establish an Implementation Committee to monitor progress and assist in
overcoming unforeseen obstacles.
III Acknowledgements
To list and acknowledge all the information sources, institutions and individuals, who
have assisted UNWTO and its consultants in the compilation of this Master Plan would
take almost as much space as the study itself. Although wishing to support the
Romanian paper making industry we also feel we should preserve some more of
Romania's beautiful forests. May it therefore suffice to say that the consultancy team
advised by literally hundreds of individuals from all sectors of the tourism industry; it was
assisted throughout by a partner team of Romanian experts and given excellent advice
by an active and extremely helpful Steering Committee. Despite frequent changes in
titles and personalities there was constant support from Government ministers and state
secretaries. Above all the staff of the National Tourism Authority were unfailing in their
help and assistance, well beyond the call of duty.
Thanks to you all and to the people of Romania who welcomed us so warmly. We hope
our work is beneficial and to return frequently to your beautiful country.
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A SITUATION ANALYSIS
In this analysis of the current situation of tourism in Romania it is not felt necessary to
enumerate in detail the impressive range of natural, geographic, environmental, heritage
and ethnographic assets of the destination. These are well documented elsewhere. A
pragmatic approach is taken concentrating on the key elements that contribute to
tourism. In some areas there is excellent documentation. In others, particularly the
profile of visitors, there is a lack of information. This review seeks to identify where
tourism stands currently and to highlight where weaknesses need to be addressed and
opportunities seized.
1 Volume and Value of Tourism to 2006

This is a summary of the volume and value of tourism from both domestic and
international markets and is limited to the principal headline figures. The detailed
presentation of the seasonality patterns, distribution of demand by locality,
accommodation type and occupancy level is to be found in Section 6 below.
1.1 International Tourism to Romania
1.1.1 Volume and Value of Arrivals
Table 1.1 below shows the pattern of international visitor arrivals and associated foreign
exchange earnings as presented by the Romanian National Institute of Statistics and the
National Bank of Romania respectively for the period 2000 to 2006.
Table 1.1 International Volume and Value of Arrivals in Romania 2000 to 2006
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Arrivals ('000s) 5,264 4,938 4,794 5,595 6,600 5,839 6,037
Value (Million Euros) 359 362 335 396 406 852 1,034
Sources: Romanian National Institute of Statistics and National Bank of Romania
The impressive year on year growth in arrivals from 2002 was reversed in 2005 with a
drop of 11.5%, which was largely due to an outbreak of bird flu and serious flooding in
several parts of the country. However, it should be noted that the arrivals figures are
known to include a significant number of day-trippers, particularly from neighbouring
countries like Hungary and Moldova, and these types of visitors will have been
especially affected by news of such events. Table 1.3 below demonstrates, however,
that the 3.4% recovery in arrivals is due to continuing robust growth in international
arrivals by air and, although arrivals by road continue to dominate, this position is shown
to be weakening.
The absolute value of foreign exchange earnings moves in line with the year on year
changes in visitor arrivals, except for the position in 2005 where an anomalous picture of
a doubling in foreign exchange earnings is achieved in the same year as the 11.5% drop
in international arrivals. This may partly be explained by the fact that this measure of the
value of tourism earnings, taken from the credit side of the tourism account in the
Balance of Payments figures, is dependent upon the nature and practice of the data
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collecting methodology, which in fact was changed at the start of 2005. The data is also
known to include the exchange of foreign currency brought back into Romania by those
increased numbers of nationals enabled to work outside Romania following a relaxation
in visa requirements for working in the EU, which took place in 2004.
At present, the Romanian National Institute of Statistics does not collect data upon
visitor expenditure patterns in Romania. Until such surveys are introduced, the
contribution of international arrivals to national foreign exchange earnings will depend
upon the Balance of Payments data and will therefore represent an imprecise measure
of this important indicator of the value of tourism to the national economy.
In Section 1.4 below, however, estimates of the value of international and domestic
tourism to the Romanian economy are presented based upon analysis of the limited
unofficial survey data, the National Household Survey and other research.
1.1.2 Arrivals by Nationality
Table 1.2 below shows the international arrivals figures for 2006 by nationality of visitor
for the top ten generating markets in that year. Since 2001, Hungary has provided the
largest number of visitors followed by the Republic of Moldova, but in 2006 this ranking
was reversed. In a similar change of positions, the third and fourth placed nations,
Ukraine and Bulgaria also exchanged places. Germany, Italy, Turkey, Serbia, and the
United States have always been represented in the top ten visitor source markets, while
in 2006 Austria replaced Poland in this grouping. The locations associated with bird flu
and flooding together with the negative perceptions created by these events will have
been responsible for most of the changes in the relative positioning of these generating
markets.
Table 1.2: International Arrivals by Top Ten Generating Markets in 2006
Country of Origin Number of Arrivals (000s)

Republic of Moldova 1,489
Hungary 1,366
Ukraine 433
Bulgaria 399
Germany 342
Italy 278
Turkey 219
Serbia 166
Austria 151
United States 164
Source: Romanian National Institute of Statistics
Accession to EU membership involves the elimination of border controls between most

EU member states, and in the case of Romania this has particular significance because
it has a common land border with Hungary and Bulgaria, two EU states which deliver
almost one third of total visitor arrivals between them. Road, rail, river and airport based
border/immigration controls between Romania and fellow EU member countries are now
in transition and shortly to be completely removed. This will result in the loss of a
fundamental mechanism for the collection of visitor arrival/departure data. A
replacement approach has yet to be determined.
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It is clear that there is an urgent need to find a practical and manageable survey based
solution to this issue of loss of traditional data gathering. This situation must also be
seen as an opportunity to resolve other existing inadequacies in data collection, such as
the lack of information on visitor expenditure patterns, purpose of visit and locations
visited.
1.1.3 Arrivals by Means of Transport Used
Road transport dominates the means of transport used by international arrivals to visit
Romania as presented in Table 1.3 below, which shows that 72% of arrivals came by
road in 2000 rising to 75% of arrivals in 2006.
Table 1.3: International Arrivals by Means of Transport 2000 to 2006 (000s)
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Road 3,808 3,622 3,594 4,343 5,401 4,428 4,390
Rail 660 476 374 348 308 305 316
Air 655 705 689 752 705 919 1,122
River 141 135 137 152 186 187 209
TOTAL 5,264 4,938 4,794 5,595 6,600 5,839 6,037
This pattern is consistent with the domination of visitor arrivals by nationals from the
neighbouring countries of Moldova, Hungary, Ukraine and Bulgaria, which between them
accounted for over 60% of international arrivals in 2006. Although the use of road
transport has grown slowly since 2000 the most significant change in transport means
used has been the 71% growth in arrivals by air in the same period, and the near 55%
decline in the use of rail transport.
More significant, however, is the continuing strength of international arrivals by air in

2005 despite the health and environmental problems (arrivals were up 30% over 2004).
The continuation of this growth (22% in 2006 over 2005) effectively lead the recovery in
overall international arrivals for that year.
It should be noted that the visitor arrivals covered by the river transport category in Table
1.3 above also include passenger arrivals on ocean going cruise vessels at the Port of
Constanta. Figures from the Port Authority of Constanta indicate that this type of traffic
has been growing strongly in recent years, recording some 3,000 arrivals in 2003 rising
to almost 47,000 in 2006 which, conversely, would suggest that international arrivals by
river borne vessels have remained essentially the same since 2000.
1.2 Domestic Tourism in Romania
1.2.1 Volume and Value of Arrivals
The figures in Table 1.4 below provide a measure of the volume of domestic Romanian
tourism in Romania and demonstrate the overwhelming dominance of holiday taking as
the main motivating factor. The figures are recorded in the annual Romanian Household
Survey, which is undertaken for the Romanian National Institute of Statistics. This
Survey is based upon a sample of Romanian households and is then extrapolated to
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provide a picture at a national level of the behaviour of the population with respect to a
range of consumption patterns and activities. The numbers therefore do not represent
absolute figures for the volume of domestic tourists, trips and overnight stays but
represent estimates based upon the design and structure of the survey questionnaire,
the sampling techniques adopted and the extrapolation approach used.
The figures are particularly interesting in that they provide indicative statistical support
for the widely reported weakening of interest in domestic holiday taking in favour of
holidays outside Romania during 2006. Total domestic tourist trips (including business
trips) and overnight stays declined by 25% and 26% respectively, while trips and
overnights for holiday purposes dropped by 23% in each case.
Table 1.4: Domestic Tourists, Trips and Overnights 2005 and 2006 (000s)
2005 2006
Tourists Trips Overnights Tourists Trips Overnights
Holiday 6,469 8,357 38,667 5,333 6,440 29,848
Business 218 379 940 161 248 769
Other 638 691 7,844 442 407 4,280
TOTAL 7,325 9,427 47,451 5,936 7,095 34,897
Source: Romania National Institute of Statistics / National Household Survey
The National Household Survey was begun in 2003 and is something of a pioneer in
terms of the detailed inquiry that it makes upon the profile of the consumer and his
behaviour. Such a survey is evolutionary in approach both in terms of the questions it
asks but also in the representative nature of the population from which it draws its
survey sample. Sample structure and survey responses, however, are regarded by the
Romanian National Institute of Statistics as not wholly reliable as yet, and are likely to
take some years of operational practice, refinement and familiarity for this to be realised.
Table 1.5 below, which is also taken from the National Household Survey, shows the
distribution of domestic overnight stays for both holiday and business purposes, across
the various tourist zones. These figures correspond exactly with the overnight stay data
in Table 1.4 but exclude the Other category and demonstrate the relative importance of
both the coast and the mountains (and Bucharest) for attracting domestic holiday and
business overnight stays.
The notable drop in domestic overnights shown in Table 1.4 above is further reinforced
by the data in Table 1.5 which demonstrates the decline in overnights by tourist zone.
Although in absolute terms the Other Areas zone has lost the largest number of
overnights (5.2 million), the very breadth and diversity of this category (it includes most
major cities in Romania including Constanta) makes comment difficult other than to
suggest that many visits to stay with friends and relatives were curtailed in favour of
more time spent at home or outside Romania. However, the next most significant zone
to lose tourist overnight stays was the Coast, with a drop of some 2 million overnights, a
decline of 26%, which reflects the reported shift in market appeal away from the
Romanian Black Sea towards competitor destinations like Bulgaria.
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Table 1.5: Domestic Tourist Overnights by Tourist Zone, 2005 and 2006 (000s)
TOURIST ZONE 2005 2006

Coast 7,438 5,492
Mountains 8,106 6,398
Spas 1,101 1,251
Danube Delta 256 199
Tourist Circuits 546 361
Other Areas (incl. Bucharest) 22,160 16,917
TOTAL 39,607 30,618
Source: Romania National Institute of Statistics / National Household Survey
Data presented in Section 6 below characterising the scale, geographic distribution, type
and quality of accommodation chosen by domestic visitors is based upon the collection
of statistics provided directly by the owners of the various registered accommodation
businesses and is thus a more accurate representation of visitors staying overnight in
registered accommodation than the data in Tables 1.4. and 1.5. However, data based
upon registered accommodation under-represents the overall number of trips and
overnight stays taken, since many trips and overnights involve staying in the homes of
friends and relatives, whose accommodation is in general outside the registration
system. Arguably therefore the National Household Survey (subject to its shortcomings)
presents a rounder, if less detailed, picture of national visitor flows.
The National Household Survey does include questions about expenditure, including
upon holiday and leisure activities, but these figures remain unpublished by the
Romanian National Institute of Statistics until better sampling and respondent completion
allow for more rigorous and reliable reporting.
1.3 Romania Compared to Other Destinations
Table 1.6 below presents a comparison between Romania and a selected number of
regional nations on the basis of international tourist arrivals and international tourist
receipts for 2004 and 2005.
Table 1.6: Selected Comparative Destination Performance in 2004 and 2005
International Tourist Arrivals International Tourist Receipts

(000s) ($US million)
2004 2005 2004 2005
Bulgaria 4,630 4,837 2,221 2,401
Croatia 7,912 8,467 6,848 7,463
Czech Rep 6,061 6,336 4,172 4,631
Hungary 12,212 10,048 4,061 4,271
Ukraine 15,629 n/a 2,560 3,125
ROMANIA 6,600 5,839 503 1,060
Source: United Nations World Tourism Organisation/National Bank of Romania
It is clear from this limited comparison that Romanias performance as measured by

these two significant indicators is generally weaker than its neighbours, but particularly
weak in terms of its capacity to generate foreign exchange earnings. Bulgaria, for
example, attracted some 20% fewer arrivals than Romania in 2005 but was still able to
generate nearly three times the foreign exchange earnings from this smaller number of
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visitors, and the Czech Republic with only 8% more visitors can earn five times as much
as Romania in foreign exchange receipts.
It is likely that there are certain methodological differences in the data collection
procedures (including the recording by Romania of day-trippers in their arrival figures)
which will account for some of this disparity in earnings between Romania and these
selected nations. But even allowing for this factor, the Romanian performance would still
be considered relatively weak. The dramatic doubling of Romanian earnings in 2005
over 2004 is in fact due in part to just such a revision in data collection methodology and
suggests a historic under-recording of such earnings.
Table 1.7 below presents a further comparison of Romania with the same selected
regional nations as above but this time in terms of the relative contribution which tourism
expenditure makes to national GDP, between 2000 and 2004.
Table 1.7: Selected Comparative International Tourism Expenditure as a % of National

GDP, 2000-2004
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Bulgaria 10.8 9.0 9.4 10.6 11.3
Croatia 15.6 17.4 17.3 22.8 21.0
Czech Rep - - 4.6 4.5 4.6
Hungary 8.2 8.1 5.8 5.0 4.1
Ukraine 1.8 2.0 2.4 2.4 2.3
ROMANIA 1.1 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.8
Source: United Nations World Tourism Organisation/International Monetary Fund
Once again the comparative performance of Romania is the weakest of the selected
regional nations and although amended data collection techniques will undoubtedly
improve the percentage contribution of tourism expenditure to national GDP (the figure
for 2005 has grown to 1.1% as shown in Table 1.11 below), the value of tourism as
recorded by this indicator is poor, even when compared directly with Ukraine, the next
weakest member of the nations in the group.
A further independent international comparator of national performance in tourism

comes from the research work published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in their
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2007. Table 1.8 below presents their
overall national rankings for the selected group of nations identified in the earlier tables,
while Table 1.9 examines these comparisons in greater detail using three principal
indicators - the regulatory framework, the business environment and the available
human, cultural and natural resources, developed from WEFs own detailed assessment
methodology.
Table 1.8: Overall Competitiveness Ranking for Selected Countries
Selected Country Ranking

Bulgaria 54
Croatia 38
Czech Republic 35
Hungary 40
Romania 76
Ukraine 78
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Source: World Economic Forum 2007
This ranking system covers 124 nations and places each one in overall comparison with
each other as far as travel and tourism competitiveness is concerned. That is, each
nation is accorded a ranking position between 1 and 124 depending upon how it
measures up to the criteria established by the WEF methodology. Thus Romania is
ranked number 76 out of 124, just above Ukraine but lagging behind Bulgaria and the
other selected countries.
Table 1.9: Comparative Travel and Tourism Competitiveness by Principal Indicator for
Selected Countries
Selected Country Regulatory Business Human, Cultural

Framework Environment and and Natural
Infrastructure Resources
Bulgaria 66 56 41
Croatia 58 40 11
Czech Republic 40 37 22
Hungary 26 51 51
Romania 87 74 71
Ukraine 76 73 89
Source: World Economic Forum 2007
This selected comparison demonstrates Romanias comparatively poor competitive

performance against these neighbouring countries, ranking lowest under the regulatory
framework and business environment categories and second lowest under the
human/cultural/natural resources category.
Factors responsible for the poor performance under the regulatory framework category
are considered to be associated with Government regulation, especially in the
environmental area and with health and safety measures, although it is likely that the
recent outbreak of bird flu has had particular influence here. Within the business
environment/infrastructure category, relative weaknesses in both air and ground
transportation infrastructure are considered to be responsible for the lack of
competitiveness, while weaknesses associated with human resources and the public
perception of the importance and value of tourism as indicated by the political world and
statistics, are considered responsible in the human/cultural/natural resources category.
1.4 Estimated Value of International and Domestic Tourism in 2005
Tables 1.11 and 1.12 below present estimates of the gross value of international and
domestic tourism expenditure, in millions of Euros, and their respective contribution to
the GDP of the Romanian economy in 2005. The bases and assumptions behind these
figures may be found in the Economic Impact Section presented later in this report but
very broadly they have been drawn from an analysis and interpretation of limited data
taken from two USAID tourism surveys and the annual National Household Survey.
The market types are distinguished by being either international or domestic but are also
described by the type of accommodation used (registered or unregistered) since the
official National Institute of Statistics only records visitors staying in registered
accommodation, while the National Household Survey covers domestic visitors staying
in all types of accommodation including registered, unregistered, friends, relatives and
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own second home accommodation. Romanian nationals overnight stays outside of

Romania are excluded from this analysis and thus by deducting the total of domestic
overnight stays in registered accommodation from the National Household Survey total
domestic overnight stays, the resulting balance is considered to represent stays in
unregistered accommodation.
The expenditure, in Table 1.11, while split between international and domestic markets
(and split within the domestic market), is in each case considered to be total
expenditure, that is it is a composite figure which includes spending upon
accommodation, meals, transport within Romania, entertainment and shopping and
souvenir purchases etc.
Table 1.11: Estimated Value of International and Domestic Tourism Expenditure

in 2005, in Millions of Euros
Expenditure by Market Type 2005 (Euros million)

International Visitors in Registered
Accommodation 877
Domestic Visitors in Registered
Accommodation 820
Domestic Visitors in Unregistered/VFR
Accommodation 1,058
TOTAL EXPENDITURE 2,755
Source: USAID Reports, National Household Survey and Consultants Estimates
Table 1.12 below presents the expenditure shown in Table 1.11 above in terms of its
numerical and percentage contribution to Romanian GDP. The figure for Romanian
GDP, in billions of Euros, has been taken from official National Bank of Romania
statistics.
Table 1.12: Estimated Contribution of International and Domestic Tourism Expenditure to

Romanian National GDP in 2005, in billions of Euros and Percent of GDP
International Domestic Total

Expenditure Expenditure Expenditure
Tourism Expenditure 0.877 1.878 2.755
Romanian GDP 79.3 79.3 79.3
Expenditure as a
Percentage of GDP 1.1 2.4 3.5
Source: National Bank of Romania and Consultants Estimates
International visitor expenditure is thus seen to contribute some 1.1% to national GDP
with domestic expenditure delivering more than twice this figure at 2.4%, while together
they represent a much more significant 3.5% contribution.
1.5 Estimated Accommodation Capacity and Employment in 2005
Table 1.13 below presents a summary of the estimated rooms capacity and employment
in the registered accommodation sector in 2005.
Greater detail upon the size, type, distribution and occupancy of the supply of
accommodation may be found at Section 6 below while a more detailed analysis of
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employment and human resources issues within the accommodation and tourism sector
is presented in the chapter dedicated to this aspect.
Reliable statistical data upon employment within the tourism sector are very largely
limited to the official figures presented here, since provision of various data from
registered accommodation businesses is required by the registration system and thus
readily collected. However, data collection in other areas of the tourism sector are either
difficult to separate into tourism related and routine domestic related (for example in the
case of restaurants); are poorly collected and presented and thus difficult to interpret (for
example in the case of tourism guides); or are irrelevant to our analysis as in the case of
the employment figures for those working in travel agencies.
In view of the estimated size of tourism expenditure associated with the unregistered
accommodation sector presented in Table 1.11 above, it is clear that considerable
additional employment in the sector must exist which is not represented by the official
statistics. It is considered that this additional employment could amount to in excess of a
further 20,000 jobs.
Table 1.13: Estimated Registered Accommodation Capacity and Employment in Romania

during 2005
Accommodation Number of Number of Assumed Staff Number of

Type Establishments Rooms to Rooms Ratio Staff
Hotels/Motels 1,060 74,050 0.9 66,645
Guesthouses 2,916 15,065 1.0 15,065
Self Catering
villas, bungalows 894 9,600 0.6 5,760
Others 205 4,205 0.8 3,364
Total 5,075 102,920 0.9 90,834
Source: Romanian National Institute of Statistics and Consultants Estimates
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2 Tourist Attractions and Utilisation

2.1 Natural Attractions
2.1.1 National Parks and Nature Reserves
There are three main categories of protected areas in Romania:

The Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve
13 National Parks
13 Nature Reserves
Their combined area is 1,652,403 hectares - about 7% of the Romanian territory. The
Danube Delta has its own Biosphere Reservation Administration. All national parks are
administered by the National Forest Administration (Romsilva) except Ceahlau, which is
administered by Neamt County Council. Romsilva also administers all but three of the
Nature Reserves.
The protected areas feature a diversity of flora and fauna, many of which are unique and
endangered. While protection and conservation are the prime objectives of the
administrators the protected areas are a major resource for tourism. This can range
from hunting and mountaineering to walking and winter sports. There is considerable
capacity for growth in visitor numbers in designated parts of the protected areas.
The amount and type of accommodation in protected areas varies considerably. In most
cases there is plentiful accommodation in close proximity to the protected areas.
Table 2.1: Protected Areas Size and Accommodation
Hectares Accommodation Accommodation

Units in Protected units in locality
Areas
Biosphere Reservation
Danube Delta 580.000 106
National Parks
Rodna mountains 46.399 1 58
Climani 24.041 1 50
Bicaz gorges - Hma 6.575 5 1
Piatra Craiului 14.800 10 52
Cozia 17.100 3 32
Buila - Vnturaria 4.186 0 50
Jiului canyon 11.127 2 0
Retezat 38.138 5 12
Domogled - Cerna valley 60.100 39 3
Semenic - Caraului Gorges 36.665 3 13
Nera gorges - Beunia 37.100 1 8
Mcinului mountains 11.321 0 1
Ceahlu 8.396 0 64
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Hectares Accommodation Accommodation

Units in Protected units in locality
Areas
Total National Parks 315,948
Nature Reserves
Maramure mountains 148.850 39 27
Vntori Neam 30.818 2 50
Putna - Vrancea 38.204 37 0
Bucegi 32.663 17 225
Grditea Muncelului - Cioclovina 38.184 5 3
Portile de Fier 115.655 18 15
Lunca Mureului 17.166 2 3
Apuseni 75.784 150 600
Balt Mica a Brila 17.529 1 0
Comana 24.963 1 1
Lunca Joasa Lower Prut 8.247 0 45
Tara Haegului Dinosaur Geopark 102.392 27 15
Geopark Mehedini plateau 106.000 6 12
Total Nature Reserves 756,455
Source: Romsilva (Regia Nationala de Padruilor) and NTA
There are few visitor centres provided in protected areas. Visitor numbers can only be
estimated. Romsilva advises that there are no visitor capacity problems in the areas
under their administration and plenty of room for controlled increases without
endangering the environment.
Table 2.2: Protected Areas Visitor Centres and Estimated Visits
Estimate of Visitor Information

Visitors Centres Points
Biosphere Reservation
Danube Delta *66,740 4 n/a
National Parks
Rodna mountains 10.000 0 3
Climani 1.000 0 0
Bicaz gorges - Hma 30.000 0 1
Piatra Craiului 80.000 1 0
Cozia 100.000 0 1
Buila - Vnturaria 1.000 0 0
Jiului canyon 1.000 0 0
Retezat 12.000 2 2
Domogled - Cerna valley 12.000 1 1
Semenic - Caraului Gorges 13.000 0 1
Nera gorges - Beunia 7.000 0 0
Mcinului mountains 3.000 0 0
Ceahlu 30,000 1 2
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Estimate of Visitor Information

Visitors Centres Points
Total National Parks 300.000 5 11
Nature Reserves
Maramure mountains 6.000 1 1
Vntori Neam 200.000 1 1
Putna - Vrancea 24.000 0 0
Bucegi 1.000.000 0 3
Grditea Muncelului - Cioclovina 6.000 0 0
Portile de Fier 10.000 0 5
Lunca Mureului 2.500 1 2
Apuseni 300.000 5 4
Balt Mica a Brila 1.000 0 0
Comana 5.000 0 1
Lunca Joasa Lower Prut 300 0 1
Tara Haegului Dinosaur Geopark 8,000 1 0
Geopark Mehedini plateau 5.000 0 0
Total Nature Reserves 1.567.800 9 18
* 24,340 package tourists of which 27% from abroad plus 42,400 independent staying tourists per
DDBRA warden estimates.
Provision is made for a wide range of activities within protected areas, either by the
administrators or by commercial operators. These are indicated below as well as the
potential for additional activities identified by protected area authorities.
Table 2.3: Current and Proposed Activities and Attractions Offered

in National Parks and Reserves
Cross country skiing
Cultural attractions
Mammal watching
Mountain Biking
Park name
Mountaineering
Bird watching
Water sports
Hiking Trails
Horse riding
X = existing
Speleology
Scientific
P = proposed
Cycling
Fishing
Skiing
Delta dunarii X X X X X X X X X
National Parks
Rodna mountains X P X X X P P P
Climani X X P P X X X
Bicaz gorges - Hma X X X P X X X X X
Piatra Craiului X X X P X X P X X X
Cozia X P X X P X P P
Buila - Vnturaria X P X X X X P P
Jiului canyon X P P X X P X P
Retezat X X X X X X X P P P
Domogled - Cerna valley P P X P P P P P
14
Semenic - Caraului Gorges P P X X P X P P X P P P

Nera gorges - Beunia X X P X
Mcinului mountains X X P X X P
Ceahlu X X
Natural Reserves
Munii maramureului P P P P P P P X P P
Vntori neam P X X X X X P
Putna - vrancea X X P X P X X X X X
Bucegi X P X X X P X P P X P P P
Grditea muncelului - cioclovina X X X X X P X P P
Porile de fier X X X X P P P X P P P
Lunca mureului X X X X X X X X
Apuseni X X X X P X X P X X
Balta mic a brilei P X P P P P
Comana P X X P X X X X P
Lunca Joasa Lower Prut P X P X X X P P
Tara Haegului Dinosaur Geopark X X
Geopark Mehedini plateau X X X X P P X P X P P P
Full tourism development strategies have only been developed for Retezat and Piatra
Craiului National Parks. The DDBRA has its own development strategy.
2.1.2 Caves
As visitor attractions caves offer a variety to the visitor experience, which can otherwise
be dominated by historic buildings and museums.
There are over 12,500 caves in the country. 14 of these have been adapted for visitor
access and most have electricity installed. There are a further 50-100 caves that could
be developed for easy visitor access. Visitor numbers to the caves currently attracting
tourists are unreliable, but at a conservative estimate 300,000 visits are made to the 14
main caves each year.
In several of these access is limited and the open areas have suffered from frequent
visitation and damage thus providing a poor visitor experience. Visitor numbers appear
to be increasing. The most popular caves Urilor in Bihor and Dmbovicioara in Arge
receive between 50-70,000 visitors a year each with numbers increasing. It should be
noted, however, that, while in a scenic location and easily accessible, the Dambovicioara
Cave is small and has few points of interest. There is no current constraint on handling
more visitors in these caves. Apart from Urilor facilities in most caves are rudimentary.
Table 2.4: Caves Adapted for General Tourist Visits
County Cave Location Lighting

Alba Petera Vrtop Arieeni
Alba Ghearul Scrioara Grda de Sus
Alba Poarta lui Ionele* Grda de Sus
15
Arge Petera Dambovicioara Dmbovicioara

Bihor Petera Urilor Chicu
Bihor Petera Meziad Meziad, Remetea commune
Bihor Petera Ungurului uncuiu
Bihor Petera Vntului uncuiu
Bihor Petera Vadu Criului Vadu Criului
Cara Severin Petera Comarnic Iablacea, Caraova commune X
Dmbovia Petera Ialomia Moroeni
Gorj Petera Muierilor Baia de Fier
Gorj Petera Polovragi Polovragi
Vlcea Petera Liliecilor Bistria Monastery, Costeti
Source: Institutul National de Speologie "Emil Racovita" and 'Proiect de valorificare prin turism a reliefului
carstic din romnia INCDT 2003'. Ghidul Pesterilor din Romania Cristian Lascu.
* Access difficult
Figure 2.1: Location of Main 'Show Caves' in Romania
For speleology enthusiasts and experienced speleologists there are several tour
operators offering caving holidays. The Romanian Federation of Speleology and its
members are active in assisting speleologists visit other caves.
2.2 Cultural Heritage
2.2.1 Historic Monuments
Romania has seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Some of these are unusual in that
they are groups of attractions within an area rather than a single site. In all 30 sites have
World Heritage Site status as well as the Danube Delta biodiversity area:
16
Danube Delta (designated in 1991)

Churches of Moldavia (1993) 7 sites
Monastery of Horezu (1993)
Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania (1993, 1999) 7 sites
Dacian Fortresses of the Orastie Mountains (1999) 6 sites
Historic Centre of Sighioara (1999)
Wooden Churches of Maramure (1999) 8 sites
Figure 2.2: UNESCO World Heritage Sites
The variety and spread of these major sites is of great benefit in encouraging the
dispersal of visitors throughout the country and especially to rural areas. Their UNESCO
branding is beneficial in heightening awareness of the high quality of many of Romania's
historic monuments.
The Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs lists nearly 30,000 historical monuments, of
which 6,614 are designated as being of national and international importance. These
include archaeological sites, historic and architecturally important buildings including
both religious and domestic structures, monuments and statues.
There are 288 buildings listed as being birthplaces or homes of celebrities. These range
from Peles Castle to the humbler homes of less well known academics and men of
letters.
17
Commemorative plaques are a feature of many noteworthy buildings.
The counties with the highest concentration of historic monuments are Arges, Mures,
Sibiu, Cluj, Brasov, Prahova, Covasna, Dambovita, Bucarest, Constanta and
Hunedoara. This indicates that the central regions and Black Sea coast are the most
important from a cultural heritage perspective.
2.2.2 Museums and Galleries
Museums form a significant part of the attractions that tourists visit. In 2005 there were
675 museums officially listed attracting a total of 10,488,000 visits. This is an increase
of 29% in museums since 2000 and an increase of 19% in visits to museums over the
same period. No data is available on the share of museum visits made by tourists as
compared to local residents.
Table 2.5: Museums in Romania by Category and Visitors 1999-2005
Museum 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Natural sciences 36 36 37 40 36 37 44
Technical and scientific 11 10 15 15 16 15 21
History 92 96 93 90 99 100 112
Ethnography 58 63 61 68 72 74 115
Cultural history 108 121 113 130 131 128 159
Art 119 113 118 121 126 134 148
Mixed 91 80 87 84 71 69 76
Units - total 515 519 524 548 551 557 675
Visitors ('000) 8.818 9.594 10.550 11.114 10.108 10.446 10.488

% increase 8,8 10,0 5,3 -9,1 3,3 0,4
Source: National Institute for Statistics
The Institutul de Memorie Culturala cIMeC (Institute of Cultural Heritage) identified 740
public museums and public collections in 2006.
There are 28 museums officially identified as of national importance, a further 14 of

regional importance and 41 of importance at county level. Half of the National museums
are located in the capital.
Most museums are open over the weekend and closed on Mondays. Some also close
on Tuesdays. Admission fees vary considerably, but are generally below RON 10.
There are extra charges for the services of a guide. Charges for photography, where
permitted, are generally high by Western European standards.
Additionally there are some 220 licensed art galleries.
While featuring fascinating collections and artefacts, with few exceptions, the majority of
the museums have old fashioned displays and interpretation techniques. They mostly
do not feature modern display and presentation techniques designed to entertain and
18
enthrall visitors at the same time as educating them. This makes them less attractive
and inspiring to tourists.
There are very few museums with good retail outlets. With one or two exceptions there
are no museums with cafs or restaurants.
The National Network of Museums in Romania (RNMR) was established in 2006 and
seeks to improve all aspects of museum operations. It has 42 members currently. It is
working with the Matra Project to assist directors of member museums develop
development strategies for each museum.
2.2.3 Religious Heritage
Since 1990 and the ending of restrictions on religious observance there has not only
been an increase in religious practice but significant investment in the restoration of
historic religious buildings and institutions. Many of the ancient monasteries are once
more active, living places, rather than lifeless examples of decaying architecture.
The wealth and uniqueness of Romania's religious buildings has been recognised by
UNESCO's designation of 7 churches in Moldavia, 7 fortified churches in Transylvania, 8
of the wooden churches in Maramures and Horezu Monastery as World Heritage sites.
Of about 12,800 Orthodox religious buildings in the country, including over 380
monasteries, some 2,400 have been identified as being of historical or architectural
significance.
There are additionally many interesting buildings belonging to other sects as well as
mosques and synagogues.
Much restoration work still needs to be undertaken, but this is in itself a point of interest
for visitors.
Visitor numbers to religious buildings for sightseeing purposes are not known, but are
significant. During peak periods, such as the summer months, visits to popular sites
such as UNESCO World Heritage buildings, cause congestion, which needs careful
management. Modest admission charges are levied at many monasteries and some
churches. Photography charges, where levied, tend to be high.
Quite apart from visits for pilgrimage or purposes of worship the majority of tourist visits
to attractions are to religious buildings. They form the backbone of the country's visitor
attractions.
2.3 Performing Arts
In 2005 there were 146 performing arts venues in Romania including theatres, puppet
theatres, symphony concert halls, opera houses and folk music and dance venues.
19
Table 2.6: Performing Arts Venues 1999-2005
Performing Arts Venues 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Drama theatres 53 54 57 59 57 57 59
Puppet theatres 25 26 26 26 25 24 24
Opera houses 8 8 7 7 7 7 7
Musical comedy and variety theatres 10 10 9 9 9 8 7
Philharmonics and symphonic
18 18 18 18 18 17 18
orchestras
Folk music bands 9 8 8 8 8 7 6
Song and dance ensembles 22 22 24 24 22 24 24
Circus 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Units - total 146 147 150 152 147 145 146
There were some 17,350 performances in 2005. There have been annual fluctuations in
performance numbers, but an overall increase of 7% since 2000.
Table 2.7: Artistic Performances 1999-2005
Performances/Concerts 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Drama theatres 5,968 5,957 6,783 6,915 6,537 7320 7,206

Puppet theatres 4,295 4,087 4,588 4,811 4,460 4,634 4,171
Opera houses 973 876 733 723 816 892 833
Musical comedy and variety
930 826 942 893 1,071 887 748
theatres
1,377 1,592 1,355 1,309 1,262 1,351 1,601
orchestras
Folk music bands 435 411 466 412 433 433 285
Song and dance ensembles 2,133 2,302 2,259 2,528 2,328 2,251 1,923
Circus 253 191 230 230 92 139 581
Total 16,364 16,242 17,356 17,821 16,999 17,907 17,348
Audiences totaling 4.2 million attended performing arts events in 2005. This is a
reduction of 26% since 2000. The numbers of tourists among the audiences is not
known. Given that there has been no change in the number of venues and an increase
in performances this would suggest significant capacity to accommodate additional
tourist audiences.
Table 2.8: Attendance at Arts Performances 1999-2005
Audiences 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Drama theatres 1,017 1,067 1,306 1,213 1,188 1,249 1,121
Puppet theatres 534 470 525 511 556 572 536
Opera houses 318 165 169 200 260 331 319
Musical comedy and variety
189 161 196 184 237 187 153
theatres
20
Audiences 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

271 544 334 313 259 281 301
orchestras
Folk music bands 271 231 224 100 234 281 135
Song and dance ensembles 2,420 2,704 2,000 1,935 1,966 1,399 1,358
Circus 72 81 115 125 86 113 276
Audience - total ('000) 5,092 5,423 4,869 4,581 4,786 4,413 4,199
The calibre of many performances, particularly musical, is of international standard.

Admission prices and availability of seats are potentially attractive to foreign visitors for
performances where language is not a barrier. Publicity for the performing arts is very
much localised and tour operators and visitors are not specifically targeted.
2.4 Other Attractions
2.4.1 Salt Mines
These industrial sites are tourism assets in two respects. Firstly they attract visitors to
the area wishing to receive medical treatment in the special atmosphere within the
mines. Secondly, they are appealing to visitors wishing to learn about salt mining,
experience the work location and underground caverns. Both forms of tourism attract
visitors to the area of the mines and generate demand for accommodation and other
visitor services. Mine visits also extend the variety of visitor attractions within an area
thereby enriching the visit options.
There are seven operational salt mines in Romania. Five of these are open to visitors
for medical treatment purposes and as tourist attractions. The National Salt Society,
Salrom, is charged with the exploitation of the mines, both for salt extraction and as
visitor attractions. It also operates a Museum of Salt in Bucharest.
Figure 2.3: Salt Mines Open to Visitors
21
The mineral deposits in the mines are owned by the National Agency for Mineral
Resources (ANRM) and any developments in the mines have to be jointly agreed by
them and Salrom. The overall mining business, including visitors, makes a small profit,
but reinvestment in visitor facilities is extremely limited.
Currently there is little promotion of salt mine visits on a national basis. Numbers of day
visits for treatment have increased by 35% in the last three years and are as follows:
Table 2.9: Romanian Salt Mines Treatment Visits
Mine Visits for Treatment

% increase
2003 2004 2005 2006 2003-2006
Cacica 0 0 0 0
Targu Ocna 7.000 12.042
Ocna Dej 0 0 0 0
Praid 127.499 116.833 126.288 160.242 26
Slanic
Prahova 12.073 12.471 12.160 16.539 37
Totals 139.572 129.304 145.448 188.823 35
Source: Salrom
Over the same period tourist visits have increased by 61% to over 300,000.
Table 2.10: Romanian Salt Mines Tourist Visits
Mine Tourist Visits

% increase
2003 2004 2005 2006 2003-2006
Cacica 9.244 9.905 10.389 18.743 103
Targu Ocna 23.000 41.391
Ocna Dej 650 900 911 1.100 69
Praid 127.499 116.833 126.288 160.242 26
Slanic
Prahova 52.793 62.721 80.249 84.864 61
Totals 190.186 190.359 240.837 306.340 61
Source: Salrom
Treatments normally comprise stays of four hours per day for 6-10 days thus generating
use of accommodation locally and spare time for additional tourist activity locally.
Admission prices vary between RON 12 for tourists and RON 7 for patients with
reductions applied for multiple visits and children.
2.4.2 Narrow Gauge Railways
There are three narrow gauge railways currently operating for tourists in Romania.
22
In Maramures a logging train operates on a 735mm gauge track in the Vaserului Valley
between Viseu de Sus and Faina, a distance of 32 kilometres one way. There are up to
five tourist carriages on the train with a capacity of 150 passengers and the return
journey takes all day. There is a daily service in summer (May-September). Group
visits and charters can be arranged at other times.
In Alba trains operate in the Valea Ariesului for groups on request on a 12 km stretch of
track between Abrud and Campeni.
At Moldovita in Suceava trains operate in summer and subject to prior booking on a 4km
track. The capacity is 50 persons and diesel or steam locomotives are available.
Figure 2.4: Narrow Gauge Railways
There are a number of other redundant narrow gauge railway routes with track and other
infrastructure still in existence, though not maintained. The most significant of these is
the Sibiu-Agnita line, which has recently been designated a historic monument and
where efforts are being made to restore the route and recommence operations subject to
the resolution of land ownership issues.
Although operating with high load factors the Viseu de Sus tourist train cannot operate at
a commercially sustainable level without free use of maintained track and locomotive
maintenance sponsored by enthusiasts. It is unlikely that other routes can operate
successfully without similar benefits except on short distance routes. Apart from its own
commercial activity, the Viseu de Sus railway benefits the region additionally by
generating a significant number of bed nights in the area.
23
2.4.3 Wine Tourism
Romania is a significant wine producing country with an increasingly high reputation

internationally and with increasing export sales. There are seven main wine producing
regions in the country:
The Transylvanian plateau

The Moldavian Hills
The Muntenian and Oltenian Hills
Banta Hills
Cressona and Maramures Hills
Dordogne Hills
Danube Terraces
Wine tourism normally consists of three main components:
Visits by wine connoisseurs and buyers to specific vineyards with scientific and
purchasing intent business tourism
Visits to vineyards by general interest visitors to learn of the wine making process
and to taste wines. This is normally seen as a self-financing publicity activity by
vineyards to encourage on-the-spot sales and customer loyalty in the longer term
Wine routes scenic routes through wine growing country linking individual
vineyards
Romania has nine main vineyards offering tours and wine tastings on a regular basis for
general interest visitors:
Murfatlar,
Crama Urlateanu
Casa Seciu
Stefanesti
Minis
Jidvei
Panciu
Bucium
Recas
There are also wine museums at:
Murfatlar
Dragasani
Stefanesti (Golesti-Arges)
Husi
Odobesti
Minis
Harlau
A Wine Route has been designated in Alba county.
A number of tour operators offer specialist wine tours.
24
Figure 2.5 : Wine Tourism
25
3. Tourism Products
3.1 Coastal Tourism
The Black Sea coastal resorts contain a high percentage of the accommodation in
Romania. In 2005 29% of the country's registered hotels were on the coast and 45% of
hotel bed spaces. However, these hotels were only operational for an average of 102
days. During this short season they achieved a 53% occupancy rate.
Half of the country's Villas and Bungalows are also on the coast as well as the largest
campsites. The operational season of non hotel accommodation is even shorter than
that of hotels.
Table 3.1: Accommodation Units in Coastal Resorts 2005
Romania Coast % Average Days Open

Hotels 993 285 29 102
Motels 161 1 1 n/a
Youth hotels 23 3 13 72
Hostels 33 4 12 25
Tourist villas 716 296 41 39
Bungalows 305 207 68 41
Campsites 72 17 24 66
School camps 151 13 9 57
Urban guest houses 597 25 4 80
Rural guesthouses 956 14 1 55
House lets 52 26 50 18
Other 167 0 0 n/a
Total 4,226 891 21 85
Table 3.2: Bed Spaces in Coastal Resort Accommodation 2005
Romania Coast %
Hotels 164,102 74,222 45
Motels 6,186 42 1
Youth hotels 1,487 309 21
Hostels 987 230 23
Tourist villas 15,157 6,549 43
Bungalows 4,963 4,080 82
Campsites 26,568 18,097 68
School camps 28,916 9,348 32
Urban guest houses 10,910 667 6
Rural guesthouses 11,151 688 6
House lets 4,227 2,986 71
Other 8,540 0 0
Total 283,194 117,218 41
26
Much of the accommodation is in highly concentrated areas in the main resorts of

Mamaia, Eforie Nord and Sud, Costinesti, Olimp, Neptun, Jupiter, Aurora, Venus, Saturn
and Mangalia. The design of these resorts still largely reflects the era of their expansion
in the 1970s and 1980s.
Once a favoured summer holiday area both for Romanians and Western Europeans, the
coastal area has lost much of its Western European traffic as it has failed to re-develop
and compete with other coastal destinations in the region. Romanian traffic has also
declined as foreign destinations have become accessible and appealing to Romanians.
There has been some refurbishment of individual properties on the coast, but little
renovation and modernisation of resorts has taken place. Few improvements have been
made which address the seasonality problem. There has been little diversification of
resort attractions to meet the increasing demands and expectations of 21st century
visitors.
There has also been serious beach erosion over the last decade or so, thanks to
industrial activity in the Navodari area and reduction in Danube outflows. This has
reduced the natural replacement of sediment with the result that beaches are shrinking
by as much as 2 metres a year. There are also more recent threats of algae invasions.
3.2 Health Spa Tourism
The wealth of mineral springs, muds and gases with medicinal benefits in Romania is
well documented. Romania has around a third of the natural mineral springs in Europe.
There is a diversity of treatments on offer linked to these natural resources. There are
117 localities in Romania with therapeutic natural factors of which 29 are designated as
spa resorts of National importance and 32 as resorts of Local importance.
There are three main spa product offers:

Medical healthcare curing ailments
Convalescence stimulating recovery
Wellness stimulating fitness and wellbeing
Currently the emphasis is very much on the medical and convalescence elements, which
creates an image of spa resorts as places for the sick and elderly.
In 2005 there were 369 registered accommodation establishments in spa resorts, 8.7%
of all accommodation units in the country. These offered 39,090 bedspaces 13.8% of
all registered bedspaces.
Due to above average periods in operation these accommodation units offered 19.5% of
available bed spaces and 5,303,980 bednights were sold. That was 29% of all
bednights sold in Romania in 2005.
Just under 3% of these bednights were sold to foreigners.
Only 9% of bednights were in 3, 4 or 5 star properties.
Average annual occupancy in available rooms was 53%.
27
No data is available on the revenue generated by spa resorts from this occupancy.
The vast majority of spa resort business comes from state sponsored health insurance
clients. In 2005 276,342 18-day insurance treatment tickets were redeemed. This
accounted for 88% of the identified bednights in spas.
The urban infrastructure in many spa resorts is in a poor condition.
3.3 Activity Tourism
3.3.1 Winter Sports
There are some 27 licensed ski areas in Romania with around 80 authorised ski slopes.
There is a variety of ski lifts, gondolas, chair lifts, skid lifts and cable cars with a capacity
of over 35,000 persons an hour serving these areas.
The elevation of many ski areas is not sufficiently high to guarantee good natural snow
for a 3-4 month winter sports season. Artificial snow is increasingly used, where water
supply is sufficient. However, the warmth of recent winters has resulted in below
average snowfalls and made even artificial snow production difficult in a number of
areas.
There is heavy demand at weekends during the winter when snow conditions are
favourable. Many winter sports resorts have limited designated parking areas, which
results in significant congestion. Improving access is likely to have a greater impact on
the success of individual ski resorts rather than an increase in lift capacity.
There is a relatively low level of foreign winter sports business. Resorts such as Poiana
Brasov attract foreign groups for week long stays, which is beneficial in improving
accommodation usage without significantly increasing traffic congestion. In terms of the
winter sports product Romania does not have resorts that stand out internationally.
Price transport as well as accommodation - is the prime factor for foreign winter sports
enthusiasts selecting Romania.
Despite attracting summer holiday traffic and spring and autumn conference business,
the average occupancy of mountain resort accommodation was only 22% in 2005. This
suggests that, in general, there is currently sufficient bed capacity on offer.
3.3.2 Golf
Golf was a prohibited sport under the communist regime and the Romanian Golf
Federation was only formed in 2004 as the sport's governing body in Romania.
Romania only has three golf courses, the Diplomatic Club in Bucharest and courses at
Breaza and Pianu de Jos. All these courses are only of nine holes and only one, the Lac
de Verde Club at Breaza in Prahova County, is recognised by the Royal and Ancient as
a course. The Pianu de Jos course has plans to add a further nine holes.
28
With only 3 half courses in the country Romania cannot at present be considered as a
destination for golf tourism. Typically the golf tourist seeks a range of quality courses
within reasonable proximity to each other combined with quality leisure, entertainment
and accommodation. Three to four courses is generally considered to be a minimum to
establish a location as a golf destination to which it is worth travelling for a week or
more.
Figure 3.1: Golf Courses in Romania
3.3.3 Hiking
Although not quantifiable in terms of numbers of hikers, hiking in the Carpathians is a

popular pastime among Romanians and some foreign visitors.
Mountain hiking trails are designated by local authorities and cleared and marked with
the assistance of SALVAMONT. SALVAMONT also advises on the difficulty of trails and
the equipment hikers require. NTA issues authorisation certificates for trails that meet
safety and presentation standards. There are currently 301 mountain hiking trails
authorised by the NTA. These vary in length from 1 to 20 hours hiking time.
29
Local authorities are responsible for signage indicating the starting points of trails as well
as their maintenance.
In National Parks and Nature Reserves there are over 340 marked trails. Some of these
still have to obtain NTA certification.
Table 3.3: Hiking Trails in National Parks and Nature Reserves
National Parks Marked trails Nature Reserves Marked trails

Danube Delta 7* Maramures Mountains 2
Rodnei Mountains 17 Vntori Neam 9
Calimani 25 Putna Vrancea 7
Bicaz Gorges - Hma 18 Bucegi Nature Reserve 40
Piatra Craiului 31 Grditea Muncelului-Cioclovina 6
Cozia 10 Porile de Fier 15
Buila Vanturarita 5 Lunca Mureului 2
Jiului Canyon 3 Apuseni 32
Retezat National Park 20 Balta Mic a Brilei 9
Domogled - Cerna Valley 35 Comana 10
Semenic-Caraului Gorges 9 Lunca Joasa Lower Prut 0
Nera Gorges Beunia 10 Tara Haegului Dinosaur Geopark 1
Mcinului Mountains 6 Geopark Mehedini plateau 13
Ceahlau 7
Source: Romsilva, Parks and Reserves * not formally marked
A number of tour operators and mountain guides promote hiking holidays.
NTA produced a small quantity of a promotional directory of over 100 mountain hiking
trails in 2004. There appears to have been little other generic publicity of Romania as a
hiking destination.
3.3.4 Equestrianism
There are various types of equestrian activity on offer in Romania.

Riding schools
Stud farms
Riding trail and holiday operators
Riding schools cater essentially to local residents and provide leisure facilities. Stud
farms may have visitor facilities, but are normally a visitor attraction rather than provider
of activity holidays. The following are the main equestrian holiday operators:
Table 3.4: Equestrian Centres offering Riding Holidays
County Name Location

Bistrita-Nasaud Stefan cel Mare Equestrian Centre Lunca Ilvei
Brasov Equus Silvania Sinca Noua
Brasov Dutch Riding Centre Fagaras
Cluj Daksa Cluj-Napoca
30
Cluj Green Mountain Holidays Huedin

Mures Corbet Transair Targu Mures
Mures Hipohouse Sighisoara
Sibiu English Riding Centre Sibiu
Suceava Caliman National Park Vatra Dornei
Source: CNTE & NTA
All the above are in membership of the CNTE (Comitetul National de Turism Ecvestru).
Figure 3.2: Holiday Riding Centres
3.3.5 Hunting and Fishing in Romania
In 2005 the total surface of the hunting areas was about 21,603,924 hectares.
Of this area:
70,3% is administered by the General Association of Hunters and Anglers
(AGVPS),
27,9% (6,033,104 ha.) by the National Forest Administration Romsilva,
0,5% (112,066 ha.) by Educational and research institutes, and
1,3% (278,105 ha.) by independent hunting associations.
31
The biggest part of the hunting grounds is located in the lowland areas of the country -
9,067,519 ha. 8,045,882 ha. (37,2%) are in the hills and 4,490,523 ha. (20,8%) in the
mountain areas.
The main game species in Romania are : Chamois, Roe deer, Red deer, Rabbit, Wolf,
Lynx, Wild boar, Wild cat, Bear, Fox, bird species (ducks and pheasants).
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development sets annual quotas for hunting of
various species of game. Romsilva also determines the fees for trophies of various
species. Some of the game species are strictly protected and hunting is allowed only
with special approval.
Romanians wishing to hunt have to undergo a training course and pass an examination
in order to obtain a hunting permit, which is renewable annually. They also have to have
a valid gun license.
Foreign hunters may hunt in Romania provided they demonstrate their qualification and
membership of a recognised hunting organisation. They require authority to hunt from
the hunting reserve administrator directly or via the accredited hunting operator
appointed by the administrator. Priority is given to Romanian hunters.
In 2005 the number of foreign hunters was estimated to be around 8,000.
Although Romania has no pretensions to be a major sports fishing destination of

international standing the General Association of Hunters and Anglers (AGVPS) has
identified 645 sports fishing locations in the country. The main game species are carp
and trout. Fishing is particularly popular in the Danube Delta.
Visitors require a license to fish in Romania. These can be obtained from AGVPS or
Romsilva. Romsilva controls fishing in mountain streams and in the reserves it
administers. AGVPS controls all other areas and also issues licenses on behalf of the
Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority.
In 2005 it is estimated there were about 1,000 foreign fishing visitors.
3.4 Rural Tourism
In an ever increasingly urbanised society the appeal of the countryside and the rural way
of life become ever more appealing. City dwellers seek their roots and the simple ways
of the "good old days". These are some of the motivations that have spurred an
increase in rural tourism both in Romania and in many other parts of the world. These
tourists cover a wide spectrum of interests, from the ecotourist specifically interested in
involvement in environmental protection and conservation; the agritourist interested in
experiencing the farmer's lifestyle; the activity tourist enjoying the great outdoors; to the
more generalised interests of the geotourist appreciating the scenic beauties, culture
and traditions of the countryside.
Recognition of the combined facts that tourist expenditure in rural areas has a
significantly higher economic impact than in towns and that rural traditions, crafts and
customs are in danger of disappearing has inspired many individuals and NGOs to
32
invest time and money in rural tourism developments. Many of these are intensive and
very localised, such as the ADEPT Foundation project in the Sighisoara-Tarnava Mare
area. Some have a national perspective such as the work of ANTREC as a marketing
organisation for rural accommodation. The appeal of the countryside has also attracted
an increasing number of small activity and tour operators, who combine their own love of
the rural lifestyle with a commercial activity that allows others to share in it.
As a result of this activity there are many rural products and tourism opportunities
available. There is, however, limited consistency of product offer and a general lack of
collaborative publicity activity.
Probably the most tangible indicator of the growth of interest in rural tourism is the
expansion of guest house accommodation in recent years stimulated in part by the
availability of SAPARD funds. In a four year period the number of registered rural guest
house beds tripled.
Table 3.5: Expansion in Registered Rural Guest Houses 2001-2006
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 %

increase
2001-6
Rural Guest Houses Units 536 682 781 892 956 1,259 234
Beds 4,736 6,181 7510 9,405 11,151 14,391 303
Source: Institute of National Statistics
Data on occupancy in rural accommodation in general is not available, however,

average occupancy levels in Mountain Accommodation are generally low at between 20
and 25%. Mountain accommodation, however, maintains a far longer operational period
than, for example, seaside accommodation. There would seem to be plenty of rural
accommodation available both in the registered sector and in the informal, unregistered,
sector, which is understood to be particularly prevalent in rural areas.
Rural tourism benefits from the fact that many of Romania's prime man-made and
heritage attractions are in rural areas, such as painted monasteries, wooden churches,
Saxon fortified churches and Dacian fortresses. The internationally established brands
of Bucovina, Maramures, Danube Delta and Transylvania also equate with
predominantly rural areas. The rural accommodation stock, activity operators and
specialist agritourism and ecotourism suppliers are consequently well positioned to
benefit from the identified increasing interest in rural tourism.
3.5 Danube Cruises
Cruise traffic on the Danube has increased rapidly since the resumption of operations in
2003. In 2007 nearly 1,000 cruises are anticipated. Each ship has between 100 and
120 passengers. The cruise season runs from March until November. This operational
season is agreed by the Die Donau Association, a collaborative organisation with
representation from all operators and countries involved. NTA is the official
representative for Romania at the die Donau Association.
Cruises make up to four day excursions of varying duration while in Romanian waters.
These are mostly organised by Romanian tour operators on behalf of the cruise
33
company and are booked in advance. They vary from short visits to Drobeta Turnu
Severin and inside the Danube Delta, to a full day visit to Bucharest from Giurgiu /
Oltenita. The content of the excursions is at the cruise and ground operators' discretion.
Cruise ship visitors are given a sample of Romania's attractions and are prime
candidates for conversion into repeat visitors.
3.6 Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE)
Romania's major conference and exhibition facilities are predominately located in the
capital. The Romanian Convention Bureau maintains a database of conference and
exhibition venues throughout the country. An analysis of this data and the number of
conference rooms of various capacities indicates that even in the capital there are very
few venues that can accommodate large meetings. he largest purpose-built venue has
a capacity of about 650. For larger meetings theatres or public buildings have to be
used. These have both availability and flexibility constraints. Few venues can hold
meetings in their maximum capacity room and also offer full catering services for all
delegates. Few have a range of smaller rooms to cater for break-out meetings
alongside plenary sessions. Most of the large scale venues are also not very
conveniently placed near accommodation.
An analysis of the Romanian Convention Bureau's database of conference venues

illustrates the relative lack of medium to large scale venues.
Table 3.6: Numbers of Conference Rooms by Capacity
Location Meeting Room Capacity

1-50 51-100 101-200 201-500 500+
Bucharest 82 51 37 24 14
Rest of Country 323 150 110 34 10
Total 405 201 147 58 24
Source: Romanian Convention Bureau
The Palace of Parliament situated in Bucharest, which also trades as the International
Conference Centre Bucharest, is the largest quality meeting venue. Although not
designed as a conference centre it has a number of meeting rooms, restaurants and
galleries seating up to 1,200 theatre style and can provide catering for up to 2,000
persons. Confirmed availability of meeting rooms is only given at short notice and is a
constraint in the selection of this venue for large meetings where venue decisions are
made several years in advance. It is a member of the International Association of Palais
de Congres (AIPC).
Statistics are not available on the numbers and sizes of meetings being held. However,
there has evidently been an upsurge in small meetings many for training and staff
motivation purposes in recent years. These take place both in cities and rural locations.
The international meetings market comprises three main segments Corporate

Meetings, Governmental Meetings and Association Meetings. The Association meetings
segment is mobile and can be attracted to a variety of destinations. It is also
considerable both in the numbers of meetings and delegate numbers and their relatively
high spending power. Romania's performance in attracting this market segment is poor.
34
In its analysis of international meetings organised by its members in 2005 the

International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) identified 5,315 international
meetings held in nearly 100 countries. Of these 12 were held in Romania. This ranked
Romania as 53rd among the host countries.
Table 3.7: International Association Meetings Hosted in Selected Countries 2000-2005
Country 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Rank

Hungary 64 51 76 75 94 97 20
Romania 8 16 16 12 17 12 53
Serbia Montenegro 2 1 0 3 12 10 58
Bulgaria 2 3 12 5 11 6 67
World Total 4,500 4,468 4,981 5,014 5,497 5,315 -
Source: ICCA International Association Meetings Market 1996-2005
The reasons for this weak performance are twofold. Firstly, Romania does not have
many purpose-built meeting facilities that can match the requirements of the
international meetings market both association, governmental and corporate.
Secondly, despite the valiant efforts of the Romanian Convention Bureau, there is a lack
of consistent research and promotional activity to secure international meetings.
The main exhibition centre, Romexpo, is located in Bucharest. It features 52,100 square
metres of exhibition space in 36 halls. These exhibition halls are functional but not all
inter-connected and many lack international standard facilities. Subject to planning
permission a new 12,000 square metre hall connecting with several existing halls will be
constructed in 2008.
Romexpo organises the majority of the exhibitions held at its centre in conjunction with
the relevant trade bodies. There are about 40 exhibitions a year. Approximately 20% of
exhibitors are from abroad. Total numbers of visitors are not available.
Romexpo also has eight meeting rooms seating from 50 to 300 delegates. These are
not well linked and creative solutions are required to provide catering for large delegate
meetings. There is demand for a 1000-1200 seat meeting facility for product launches
and other commercial events.
Constanta is currently developing a small exhibition facility in Mamaia combined with a

250 seat meeting room. This will cater principally for local and regional events.
The Romanian Convention Bureau (RCB) seeks to market Romania as a destination for
meetings and exhibitions and acts as a clearing house for meeting planners seeking
appropriate venues. RCB is a member of the International Convention and Congress
Association (ICCA), but alone among all members in being a purely private sector
convention bureau. Most convention bureaus are at least in part state or city funded,
either by direct grant or from some form of bed levy. This reliance on private sector
funding has restricted RCB's activities and overall effectiveness. As Romania develops
more modern and larger meetings venues an expanded RCB will be necessary in order
to market the destination effectively.
35
4 Access and Transport
4.1 Strategic Network
Figure 4.1: European Transport Corridors
Source: EU
Romania lies astride several European transport corridors connecting southeast Europe
to the north and west. These corridors form the strategic backbone to internal and
external strategic terrestrial linkages in Romania and are the prime focus of trunk
infrastructure investment, they are:
Corridor VII, the Danube, linking the Black Sea to the North Sea
Corridor IV, a road and railway corridor connects Germany in the west to
southeast Europe. After passing through Germany, Austria, Slovakia and
Hungary the corridor develops into three branches terminating at Istanbul,
Thessaloniki and Constanta respectively. The main road, E68, enters Romania
at Nadlac and bifurcates at Arad. The southern branch, to Istanbul and
Thessaloniki passes through Timisoara and Craiova to cross into Bulgaria at
Calafat. The Constanta branch, the E81, passes through Sibiu, Pitesti, and
Bucharest to Constanta. The rail element of the Constanta branch of Corridor IV
takes a more northerly route than the road and runs through Brasov.
Corridor IX, a road and rail corridor which connects Finland and Lithuania in the
north to Greece in the south. This transport artery runs through Minsk, in
36
Belarus, Moscow, Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria to Greece. In Romania the

corridor runs though Albita on the Moldova border, Focsani, Buzau, Bucharest
and enters Bulgaria at Giurgiu. The road route is designated as the E85. The
rail component of Corridor IX follows the route of the road corridor, E85.
The transport infrastructure of Romania has over a long period of time suffered serious
underinvestment. As a result the existing infrastructure is congested. As an example
the volume of goods carried per kilometre of road is 1,390 tonnes in Romania while the
EU average is 252 tonnes/km. A series of extensive programmes have been
undertaken to upgrade transport infrastructure which is still below European standards.
Over the past 15 years the nature of passenger transport trips in the country has
undergone changes, as set out below in Table 4.1. since 1990 the economy has been
liberalised and fare structures have increasingly been fixed by commercial pricing. As a
result the total quantum of passenger trips fell dramatically from 1.19 billion in 1990 to
317 million in 2004.
2
Table 4.1: Romania Passenger Trips by Mode (000s) 1995 2004
1990 1995 2000 2004

Rail 407,931 210,738 117,501 99,434
Road 780,666 413,502 205,979 216,524
Inland 1,637 2,042 133 214
Waterway
Air 2,738 1,963 1,282 1,337
Total 1,192,972 628,245 324,895 317,509
Source: Romania Statistical Yearbook 2005
At the same time that passenger numbers were falling the modal split for passenger
traffic has undergone changes, as set out below in Table 4.2.
3
Table 4.2: Romania Passenger Trips Modal Split (%)
1990 1995 2000 2004

Rail 34.19 33.54 36.19 31.32
Road 65.44 65.82 63.41 68.25
Inland 0.14 0.32 0.01 0.01
Waterway
Air 0.23 0.32 0.39 0.42
Total 100 100 100 100
Source: Consultant
Through the period 1990 to 2004 the number of tourist arrivals has remained broadly
static, having recovered from a fall in arrivals between 1990 and 2004. Tables 4.3 and
4.4 indicate that tourist arrivals by train have fallen from 2.3 million in 1990 to 308,000 in
2004. Over the same period arrivals by road increased from 3.6 million to 5.4 million.
The most dramatic increase in arrivals mode has been air, which seen a 260% increase
in tourist traffic.
2
Inter-urban and International trips only
3
Inter-urban and International trips only
37
Table 4.3: Tourist Arrivals (000s) by Mode 1990 - 2004
1990 1995 2000 2004

Road 3,670 4,266 3,808 5,401
Rail 2,349 570 660 308
Air 271 433 655 705
4
Marine 242 176 141 186
Total 6,532 5,445 5,264 6,600
Source: Romanian Statistical Yearbook 2005
Table 4.4: Tourist Arrivals Modal Split (%) 1990 - 2004
1990 1995 2000 2004

Road 56.18 78.35 72.34 81.83
Rail 35.96 10.47 12.54 4.67
Air 4.15 7.95 12.44 10.68
5
Marine 3.71 3.23 2.68 2.82
Total 100 100 100 100
Source: Consultant
Transport policy, strategies and regulations in Romania is developed at the national level
by the Ministry of Transport and Construction6. The ministry overseas construction
programmes for national roads and manages this infrastructure through the Romanian
National Motorway and Romanian Roads companies. County and communal (city)
roads are implemented and managed by the relevant local administration.
The National Spatial Plan (PATN), Section 1, Communication Routes, sets out the
transport development objectives and priority transport infrastructure projects for the
period 2007 to 2015. The specific objectives are to:
Modernise the National Road Network. Raising 5,700 km of road to European

standards. Completing 1,052 km of motorway, the Nadlac to Sibiu Motorway and
forming a motorway link to Bucharest and Constanta. In addition some 300km of
Ring Roads are planned around major cities.
Railway Upgrading. Modernise some 1,100 km of track, improve rolling stock
and stations to increase passenger numbers by 35% by 2015.
Increase Maritime Traffic. Improve facilities and infrastructure to increase the
volume of freight handled on inland waterways.
Modernise Airports. Modernisation of four national level airports, Bucharest
Henri Coanda, Bucharest Aurel Vlaicu, Timisoara and Constanta, to increase
passenger flow to 11.3 million by 2015.
4
Including inland waterways
5
Including inland waterways
6
Formerly the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Tourism
38
4.2 Highway Network
Romania has a total road network of around 80,000 km, of which some 15,700 km form
the national roads network, as illustrated below in Figure 4.2.. This comprises national
roads, motorway and European designated roads. Only 1.4% or 211 km of the national
network is motorway standard. Of the European Roads most do not comply with EU
standards and over 60% of all national roads are substandard.
The balance of the road network, around 64,000 kilometres, is composed of county and
municipal roads. Key statistics for Romanias roads are set out below in Table 4.5.
Table 4.5: Romania, Public Roads 1995 2004
1990 1995 2000 2004

Total public roads (Km) 72,816 72,859 78,479 79,454
National roads (Km) 14,683 14,683 14,824 15,712
County and communal roads (Km) 58,133 58,176 63,655 63,742
Modernised (Km) 16,592 17,608 19,418 20,880
Km of road per 100 km 30.5 30.6 32.9 33.3
Since 1990 there has been a 61% growth in vehicle registrations, this increase has been
particularly marked for cars, which have increased in numbers by around 150% since
1990. The growth in motor vehicles registered in Romania since 1990 is set out below in
Table 4.6. In spite of the increase the number of vehicles is low by EU standards and a
further increase is anticipated. Romania has 20 trucks per 1,000 inhabitants, compared
to an EU average of 64/1,000 inhabitants. Car ownership rates are similarly low and
expected to increase rapidly in the coming years.
Figure 4.2: Romania Highway Network
Source: Consultant
39
As well as densely utilised and congested national roads there is also a major problem
of urban road congestion in Romania. This problem is particularly acute in the major
cities, towns and tourist attractions. While in many cases road capacities appear to be
adequate junction design and driver discipline is often poor and road capacity is lost to
parking. Standards of parking provision are very low with almost no public parking areas
and little on site parking provision. In addition to reducing road capacity on-street
parking occupies public footpaths, frequently forcing pedestrians onto the congested
roads.
Table 4.6: Registered Motor Vehicles 1995 2004
1990 1995 2000 2004

Buses 24,297 30,365 27,181 25,421
Minibuses 3,975 11,682 13,535 17,771
7
Cars 1,292,283 2,197,477 2,777,594 3,225,367
Motorcycles 206,202 205,032 137,103 130,193
8
Others 364,145 465,756 529,257 586,934
4.3 Air Infrastructure
The country now has 16 commercial airports. The airport at Caransebes, the first to be
privatised, has been closed as it does not now meet certification standards. Of the 16
remaining airports 11 are part of the trans European transport network and are therefore
eligible for EU support, they do not include Targu Mures, Tulcea, Craiova and Baia
Mare. Thirteen airports are international and have permanent customs and immigration
facilities, although the remainder may obtain customs and immigration coverage at 48
hours notice.
Four airports are classified as being national airports by the government, these are;
Bucharest Coanda, Bucharest Vlaicu, Timisoara and Constanta Three airports are
centrally controlled by the Civil Aviation Department; Bucharest Henri Coanda,
Bucharest Aurel Vlaicu and Constanta. This department has a development programme
for the airports under its control. Other airports are managed by county authorities
although the Civil Aviation Department is responsible for reviewing their development
strategies.
7
Including Taxis
8
Including commercial and specialised vehicles, such as tricycles
40
Figure 4.3: Romania Airports
Source: Consultant
In 2004 the total volume of air passengers was 3,405,710, an increase of 9% on 2003.
The evolution of the growth in air passenger movements in Romania 1999 to 2004 is set
out below in Table 4.7.
Table 4.7: Summary of air passenger movements in Romania 1999 to 2004
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Scheduled flights 1,983,469 2,230,509 2,376,050 2,415,511 2,676,262 2,925,026
Charter flights 93,125 127,594 126,777 163,971 224,028 480,684
Total 2,076,594 2,358,103 2,502,827 2,579,482 2,900,290 3,405,710
In 2006 Henri Coanda Bucharest was the busiest airport in Romania handling around 3
million passengers, followed by Timisoara with 500,000 passengers and Cluj Airport
250,000 passengers. The major domestic and international hub is Bucharest Henri
Coanda (Otopeni). Carpatair have developed a western hub in Timisoara primarily
serving a business market while the national carrier, TAROM, is developing a central
hub at Cluj. The major low cost airport in the country is Bucharest Aurel Vlaicu
(Baneasa) which handled 600,000 passengers in 2006. The characteristics of the
countrys airports are set out below in table 4.8.
41
Table 4.8: Romanian Airports
Town Airport Name Customs Passengers Runway Length

2005 (* 2006)
Arad Arad Yes 1,758 6,500 ft
Bacau Bacau No 44,847 8,200 ft
Baia Mare Tautii Magheraus No 6,309 5,900 ft
Bucharest Aurel Vlaicu Yes 385,759 10,400 ft
Bucharest Henri Coanda Yes 3,035,511 11,400 ft
Caransebes Caransebes No 73 6,500 ft
Cluj-Napoca Someseni Yes *244,366 6,000 ft
Constanta M. Kogalniceanu Yes 111,142 11,400 ft
Craiova Craiova O/R 1,557 8,200 ft
Iasi Iasi O/R 41,959 5,900 ft
Oradea Oradea Yes 37,891 5,900 ft
Satu Mare Satu Mare No 9,276 8,200 ft
Sibiu Sibiu Yes 60.475 6,500 ft
Suceava Salcea O/R *12,766 5,900 ft
Targu Mures Vidrasau Yes 4,215 6,500 ft
Timisoara Traian Vuia Yes *608,212 11,400 ft
Tulcea Cataloi No 29,054 6,500 ft
Source: World Airports Directory
TAROM is Romanias national air carrier and has a history stretching back to 1920,
when it initiated a service between Bucharest and Paris. In 1990, following the
Romanian revolution, the company was placed on a commercial footing and a new
strategic programme adopted. The most noticeable aspect of this initiative was the
modernisation of the fleet with a mixture of Airbus and Boeing airframes to bring the
company up to competitive international standards. TAROM now has a fleet of 16
aircraft, 5 Boeing 737-300, 4 Boeing 737-100 and seven ATR 42-500s. The TAROM
shares are owned as follows: 92.63% by the Romanian State, 5.42% by Romanian Air
Traffic, 1.43% by Muntenia, a Private Financial Investment Fund and 0.52% by the
Romanian Civil Aviation Authority. TAROM is part of the Skyteam alliance and has
recently announced that it will recommence long haul services after a fleet upgrade.
42
Figure 4.4 : Henri Coanda International Airport
The airport, which is the busiest in the country, accounting for around 75% of all
passenger traffic, is operated by a public company Comania Nationala AIHCB, and has
two runways 3500m in length. In 2005 the airport handled some 3,035,311 passengers
and 53,496 aircraft movements. Its current capacity is around 35 to 40 air movements
per hour. It is forecast that in 2007 the airport will receive 4.4 million passengers. The
airport is located to the north of Bucharest near the town of Otopeni and is often referred
to as Otopeni Airport. The airport is classified as Group 4, small airport by the
European Commission. In comparison Prague Airport currently receives over 11 million
passengers while Amsterdam recorded 30.3 million passenger movements.
Henri Coanda Airport is located some 18 km to the north of Bucharest city centre and is
linked to the city by an express bus route and taxis. There are plans to link the airport to
the city by a link to the M3 motorway and Bucharest Metro Line M6 and a light rail link to
the Gara de Nord railway station. Currently the lack of a dedicated airport bus shuttle
service and clear information services are major impediments to arriving tourists.
The airport has a single terminal building comprising an International Departure Hall and
an Arrivals Hall. Domestic flights are also handled at this terminal building. There are a
total of 36 check-in desks, and a finger with 13 gates and five jetways.
A second finger with 7 jetways is currently being constructed and a new terminal building
is also being planned. The new terminal building, which will also include an airport hotel,
will be built on the east end of the present terminal. The new terminal it will consist of
four halls each with a passenger capacity of 5 million passengers annually. It is planned
that by 2015 the Terminal 2 will be able handle an estimated 20 million passengers per
year. It is reported, but not confirmed, that Baneasa Airport is scheduled for closure and
that all activities and flights will be transferred to Henri Coanda.
The airport is an important national and regional hub and is served by a wide variety of
scheduled carriers, including:
43
Aegean Airlines to Athens

Aeroflot to Moscow
Air France to Paris CDG
Air Moldova serving Chisinau
Alitalia flying to Rome and Milan
Alpi Eagles flying to Venice
Austrian Airlines to Vienna
British Airways to London LHR
Carpatair to Constanta and Timisoara
Cimber Air flying to Copenhagen
Czech Airlines to Prague
Delta Air Lines to New York JFK
El Al flying to Tel Aviv
Finnair to Helsinki
Hemus to Sofia
Iberia Airlines to Madrid
KLM to Amsterdam
LOT to Warsaw
Lufthansa flying to Frankfurt, Munich and Dsseldorf
Malev Hungarian Airlines to Budapest
Meridiana to Verona
Olympic Airlines to Athens
Swiss International to Zurich
Syrian Arab Airlines to Aleppo and Damascus
TAROM flying to Amman, Anatolia, Athens, Bacau, Baia Mare, Barcelona, Beirut,
Bodrum, Budapest, Brussels, Cairo, Chisinau, Cluj-Napoca, Craiova, Djerba,
Dubai, Frankfurt, Iasi, Istanbul, Larnaca, London, Madrid, Milan, Monastir,
Munich, Oradea, Paris, Rome, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Sofia, Targu Mures, Tel Aviv,
Thessalonica, Timisoara and Vienna.
Turkish Airlines to Istanbul
Windjet flying to Forli
In additional a number of charter airlines operate from the airport including Ion Tiriac and
Romavia. Cargo facilities include national hubs for DHL and TNT.
Traian Vuia International Airport, Timisoara
The airport, which is located in Timisoara in Western Romania, is the second busiest in
the country in terms of air traffic and is located some 12km to the north east of Timisoara
city centre. The airport is publicly owned and operated by SN Aeropotul International
Timisoara and has a single 3,500 metre runway and is capable of accommodating wide
bodied aircraft. Previously known as Giarmata Airport it was renamed in 2004.
In 2005 the airport handled 512,000 passengers. The airport has experienced
passenger growth of around 25% annually with 650,000 passengers forecast to pass
through it in 2006. The airport is the main hub for Carpatair, a major domestic and
regional carrier. Airlines using the airport include the following:
44
Alitalia to Milan
Alpi Eagles to Venice
Austrian Airlines flying to Vienna
Carpatair serving: Ancona, Bacau, Bergamo, Bologna, Bucharest, Budapest,
Chisinau, Cluj-Napoca, Constanta, Craiova, Dsseldorf, Florence, Frankfurt,
Iasi, Lviv, Munich, Naples, Oradea, Paris, Rome, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Stuttgart,
Suceava, Targu Mures, Turin, Venice and Verona
Lufthansa to Munich
On Air flying to Pescara
Malev Hungarian Airlines to Budapest
MyAir to Milan and Venice
TAROM flying to Bucharest
A new terminal for Carpatair, at a cost of 50 million, is planned as part of the airport
upgrading programme.
Aurel Vlaicu Airport (Baneasa), Bucharest
Romanias third busiest airport is Bucharest Aurel Vlaicu Airport. It was the citys only
airport until 1968, when the new International Airport was built. Up until the construction
of the new airport in 1968 it was known as Baneasa Airport and was the countrys main
air hub and base for TAROM, the national airline. By 2000 TAROM had moved all of its
operations to the new international airport. Today Aurel Vlaicu Airport, which is located
close to the city centre, has developed a role as a hub for business aviation and low cost
airlines. The first low cost airline to establish there was Blue Air in 2004. It is reported
that in early 2007 Sky Europe, Wizz Air, and Germanwings will also establish operations
at Aurel Vlaicu Airport.
The airport is located 8 km north of the city centre and is linked to the city by bus, tram
and metro lines. In 2005 Aurel Vlaicu handled some 375,000 passengers.
An increasing number of low cost operators have established services to Romania,

these include:
Blue Air: which has routes serving the following cities: Athens, Barcelona,
Bologna, Brussels-South Charleroi, Cluj-Napoca, Cologne/Bonn, Cuneo,
Istanbul-Ataturk, Lyon, Madrid, Malaga, Milan-Bergamo, Paris-Beauvais, Rome-
Ciampino, Thessalonica, Valencia, and Verona
Germanwings: to Cologne
Jet Tran Air: a charter operator
MyAir: flying to Bari, Catania, Milan-Bergamo, Milan-Malpensa, Naples, Rome-
Ciampino, and Venice
Nouvelair : Monastir
SkyEurope : serving Bratislava, Budapest , and Rome-Fiumicino
Wizz Air: with flights to Barcelona, Budapest, Dortmund, London-Luton, and
Rome-Ciampino
45
Cluj-Napoca International Airport
The Cluj-Napoca Airport is publicly owned and operated by Consiliul Judeean Cluj. The
airport has a single 2,100m runway and is the fourth busiest in the country. Situated
some 10km east of Cluj-Napoca city centre the airport is served by bus and taxi
services.
The airlines which operate services from Cluj-Napoca International Airport include the
following:
Alpi Eagles flying to Venice
Blue Air serving Bucharest, Valencia, and Barcelona
Carpatair to Budapest and Timisoara
TAROM to Bucharest, Frankfurt, Milan, Munich, Sibiu and Vienna
Nouvelair flying seasonally to Monastir
Cluj-Napoca became an international airport in 1996 and has in recent years

experienced a significant growth in passenger traffic as a hub for some of TAROMs
services. In 1999 the airport handled some 59,353 passengers, this rose to 105,091 in
2002 and to 121,037 passengers in 2003, a rise of 22% year on year. It is estimated
that by 2010 the airport will handle 400,000 passengers and a new passenger terminal is
planned to accommodate this growth.
Mikhail Koglniceanu International Airport, Constanta
Mihail Koglniceanu Airport is situated in south-east Romania 26 km from the city of

Constanta and is the main airport of Dobrogea region and the Romanian Black Sea
resorts. The airfield, which has a 3,500m runway, is used for both civil and military use.
The airport's maximum traffic capacity was reached in 1979 when, driven by tourist
arrivals to the coastal resorts, passenger numbers reached 778,766 persons. With the
loss of much of the foreign visitors to the Romanian Black Sea resorts flights numbers
and passenger volumes have fallen dramatically. Improved road and rail links between
Constanta and Bucharest have also led to a fall in traffic on that route. The airport now
appears to operated well below its capacity.
Scheduled services are provided by Carpatair to Bucharest and Timisoara while other
airlines including Air Berlin, Hamburg International, Lauda Air, Lux Air, Malev, Sterling
and Tarom provide season services through the summer tourist season. In addition the
airport also receives a large number of charter services from across Europe through the
summer season.
Targu Mures Airport
Targu Mures Vidrasau Airport has recently been renamed Transylvania Airport Targu
Mures. The airport has a 6500 feet runway length and permanent customs and
immigration facilities. The airport has undergone extensive renovation and in October
2005 a new international terminal was opened, and a Category II instrument landing
46
system commissioned, allowing 24 hours flight operations. Transylvania Airport has

seen impressive growth in passenger numbers over recent years rising from 4,200 in
2000 to 46,600 in 2005 and a projected 160,000 passengers in 2007.
Figure 4.5: Transylvania Airport Departure Hall
Source: Transylvania Airport
Scheduled services from Targu Mures are operated by Carpatair to Bucharest and
Timisoara, Wizzair to Budapest, Barcelona and Rome, Cimber Air to Copenhagen and
Malev to Budapest and London. There are ongoing negotiations with additional carriers
who plan to initiate new routes in 2007, including a possible service to Israel.
The airport management estimates that 61% of passengers are Romanian. Of foreign
travellers 47% are Hungarian and 32% from the UK. Since accession to the EU a
number of low cost carriers have investigated establishing services to Romania airports,
including Targu Mures. These carriers are reported to include Ryanair and EasyJet.
The arrival of these low cost carriers servicing major tourist source markets is to be
encouraged and supported and marketing assistance to such carriers should be
cost/benefit analysed.
47
4.4 Rail Infrastructure
Figure 4.6: Romania Rail Network
Source: Consultant
Romania has a total of 11,385 km of railway and 1,844 stations in 20059; of this total
10,898km were standard gauge, 60 km broad gauge and 427 km narrow gauge. A total
of 3,888 km of the network has been electrified. Key statistics for the railway network
are set out in the table below.
Table 4.9: Romania Railways Key Statistics
Intercity and
Total passengers
Year Network length (km) international
(million)
passengers (million)
1990 11,348 407.94 30.58
1995 11,376 210.74 18.88
2000 11,015 117.50 11.63
2004 11,053 99.43 8.64
Source: Romanian Statistical Yearbook 2004
The administration of the railways in Romania has recently undergone reorganization to
9
CIA World Fact Book
48
place the system on a more commercial footing. A Romanian Railway Authority, AFER,
was set up by Government Ordinance as an agency of the Ministry of Transport
and is charged with the administration and regulation of the railway industry in
Romania. AFERs main tasks are the following:
To monitor and enforce national and international railway regulations
To enforce safety and environmental regulations on railways and to certify
railway equipment and staff
To monitor technical and maintenance standards of the railways
To investigate serious accidents
The railroad infrastructure is administered by the national rail operator is CFR, Caile
Ferate Romane, which runs the fourth largest railway network in Europe in terms of
passenger volumes.
The railway system in Romania dates from 1854 and CFR has been operating since
1880. At the time of the change of government in 1989 the country had one of the most
heavily utilised railway networks in Europe, although with old and outdated equipment
and infrastructure. Through the 1990s the system underwent a period of decline with
many rural lines closing and rolling stock falling into disrepair. In 1998 the railway sector
was reorganised and a major investment programme undertaken by CFR.
The rail network serves a total of 996 stations throughout the country. The network has
suffered for many years from poor maintenance and underinvestment. As a result speed
limitations are in place along much of its length, some 27% of the network has a
maximum running speed of 50 km/h, and on 39% of the network trains are limited to 80
km/h. As a consequence journeys are often slow and tedious. While the railway system
has benefited from a major investment strategy improving the quality of services in an
ongoing programme passenger numbers have been in steady decline since 1990.
The CFR railway network operates four different types of passenger trains on its routes,
these are:
"P" Personal Trains, these are slow and extremely cheap services operating
primarily in rural areas
"A" Accelerat Trains, a semi slow-service operating between towns but not
serving villages
"R" Rapid Trains, a more comfortable and faster service operating on trunk
routes
"IC" Intercity Trains, CFRs premium service.
CFR has recently introduced a business class to its intercity services. The Business
Class service has better seating, personal TV's and wireless internet access. The
service is around 50% more expensive than regular services.
The concept of rail tourism is well established as a niche product area with many
international examples of flagship tourism products such as the Orient Express and the
Palace on Wheels. With its extensive network of scenic routes and vintage steam
engines CFR recognised the tourism potential of these resources and formed The
Railway Tourism Company, CFR. Principle scenic routes include the following;
49
Sinaia Brasov Line, crossing the Carpathians Mountains into Transylvania

Brasov Sibiu Line, along the Fagaras Mountains and Olt Valley
Ilva Mica - Vatra Dornei Line, through the Bargau and Suhard Mountains
Mestecanis Pass, including the viaducts of the Salauta Valley and the
Maramures line
Caransebes to Turnu Severin Line, through the Semenic and Cerna
mountains and along the River Danube
Oravita to Anina Branchline, through the Semenic Mountains
Itineraries operated by CFR cover the entire Romanian rail network and are focused on
the main tourism centres of Sibiu, Brasov, Targu Mures, Viseu, Suceava, Bucharest and
Oravita. A wide range of products are on offer from day trips to tours of a week or more.
It is also possible for organised Groups to rent the former Romanian king's personal train
as well as former president Ceausescu's private train.
Recently some narrow-gauge lines have been reopened and are operated on an
occasional basis by SFT, these include:
Abrud to Campeni
Targu Mures to Band, and
Moldovita to Canton
Many of the narrow gauge lines are located in forestry areas and were managed by the
Forestry Railway, Caile Ferate Forestiere (CFF). Since 1989 CFF has been privatised
and sold to private forestry companies with many of the lines closing down. With the
development of rural and eco tourism in forestry area some of these lines, such as the
Vasser Valley Scenic Railroad, have become significant tourist attractions.
4.5 Sea and River
4.5.1 River Tourism
Cruise tourism growth is one of the fastest growing segments of the industry and has in
recent years undergone sustained growth of around 5% a year. The Black Sea is an
established cruise tourism destination, the major ports being; Varna in Bulgaria,
Constanta, Yalta, Odessa and Sochi in Ukraine, as well as the northern Turkish ports of
Trabzon, Sinope and Batumi. In addition to Black Sea tourism a number of river cruises
also operate along the River Danube.
The Danube enters Romania at the Iron Gates on the countrys southern border and
runs for over a thousand kilometres towards the Black Sea, where it forms the largest
delta area in Europe. The Danube Delta is a biosphere reserve covering 5,500 km of
wetlands, a unique habitat for over 300 species of birds. Danube cruise activities run
through Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Romania offering
tourist and operators a wide range of multi centre itineraries.
A multi-national body, the Danube Tourism Commission, was established in 1970 to

promote tourism development along the 2,500 km length or the river and its hinterland.
Romania joined this Vienna-based organisation in 1999.
50
Among the many sights near or along the Romanian section of the Danube River, worth
visiting are: the ruins of the Roman bridge at Drobeta, Topolnita Cave, The Iron Gates
Dam, the cities of Drobeta Turnu Severin, Orsova, Giurgiu, Oltenita the river port of
Bucharest, Braila, Galati and Tulcea in the Danube Delta area. In 2004 some 90 liners
worked the river, rising to 100 in 2005 and 109 in 200610, growth approaching 10% per
annum. Romanian cruise operators and shipping companies presently operating are:
ATBAD
Eurodelta Travel
Karpaten Turism
Navrom, and
Prestige Tours
4.5.2 Black Sea Cruise Tourism
The port of Constanta is located on the Black Sea coast some 340 km north of the
Bosphorus Strait and 160 km south of the Danubes entry into the Black Sea. The port,
which is the fourth largest in Europe, has 140 operational berths and a handling capacity
of 100 million tonnes a year. The total quay length of the port is 30 km and water depth
varies between 8 and 19 metres, capable of accommodating vessels of up to 165,000
tonnes. The port has, in recent years, seen impressive traffic growth. Container traffic
has grown from 118,000 TEU11 in 2001 to 1,037,000 TEU in 2006.
As the countrys principal deepwater port and leading tourism destination Constanta has
developed sea and river cruise tourism activities. In 2005 a new cruise passenger
terminal was inaugurated in the port of Constanta in order to further develop cruise
tourism activities. The new terminal is located in the old port, close to the city centre and
the resort area of Mamaia.
A broad review of Black Sea cruise tourism activities has been carried out and identified
cruises set out below in Table 4.1
Table 4.10: Black Sea Cruise Activity 2007-8
Ship Line Passengers Nights From Constanta

Call
Rotterdam Holland America 1600 12 Piraeus
Oriana P&O 1900 18 Southampton
Rhapsody MSC 800 12 Genoa
Seven Seas Regent 500 12 Piraeus X
Costa Classica Costa 1400 14 Genoa
Boudicca Fred Olsen 900 28 Dover
Crystal Serenity Crystal 1000 12 Piraeus X
Prinsendam Holland America 800 12 Piraeus X
Corinthian II Noble Caledonian 120 10 Venice
Perla Louis Line 1000 10 Piraeus X
10
Danube Tourism Commission
11
TEU, Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit
51
Galaxy Celebrity 2200 14 Genoa X

Marco Polo Orient Lines 800 14 Piraeus
Europa Hapag Lloyd 400 10 Istanbul
Perla Louis Line 1000 10 Piraeus
Galaxy Celebrity 2200 14 Genoa X
Deutschland Deilman 500 10 Istanbul X
Rotterdam Holland America 1600 12 Piraeus X
Costa Europa Costa 1500 12 Genoa
Clipper Adventurer Clipper Line 120 12 Istanbul X
Nautica Oceania Cruises 800 12 Piraeus X
Royal Princess Princess Cruises 800 12 Genoa
Costa Europa Costa 1500 12 Genoa
Silver Whisper Silversea 400 8 Istanbul
Seabourn Spirit Seabourn 200 13 Istanbul
Hebridean Spirit Hebridean 80 13 Istanbul X
Silver Cloud Silversea 200 12 Piraeus X
Nautica Oceania Cruises 800 18 Southampton
Oriano P&O 1800 18 Southampton
Seven Seas Regent 500 12 Piraeus X
Costa Classica Costa 1400 14 Genoa
The above Table indicates that in the order of 20,000 tourists will cruise the Black Sea
on scheduled cruises during the season 2007-8. Of this total some 11,500 will call at the
port of Constanta, as a rule for one day. The above data excludes Russian and
Ukrainian origin vessels. This indicates that the Constanta Cruise Terminal is active for
only around 14 days, or 14%, of the 100 day cruise season in the Black Sea.
Increased use of the Terminal may be achieved by attracting a higher percentage of

scheduled cruises or by offering Constanta as a home port in lieu of either Piraeus or
Istanbul. Aside from the issue of port charges it should be noted that the present low
level of international services to Constanta Airport constitutes a major problem.
4.6 Tourism Access Gateways
4.6.1 Potential Tourism Development Areas
On the basis of tourism resources, access infrastructure and outline market analysis a
number of areas have been identified as potential tourism development areas. The
areas identified are broad geographic zones which should be developed as priority
areas. The areas identified have a broad mix of attractions capable of sustaining
tourism activity through the year. To reflect the mix of activities and development
opportunities in these areas we refer to them as clusters. The following potential tourism
development areas, or clusters, have been identified and are illustrated in Figure 4.7:
Bucharest City Break Culture, MICE, and Leisure

Transylvania Tourism Circuit Culture, Nature, Eco tourism, Health and
Wellness, Skiing and Adventure Tourism
Black Sea Coast Beach, Leisure, Culture, Health and Wellbeing, Black Sea
cruises
Bucovina Culture, Eco tourism, Nature, Wellness, Skiing and Adventure
Tourism
52
Maramures Culture, Nature, Eco Tourism, Skiing and Adventure Tourism

Danube Delta Nature, Eco Tourism, River Cruises, and Leisure
Figure 4.7: Tourism Development Clusters
In each of the clusters a wide range of tourism activities is available, for example
Transylvania has extensive cultural, nature, eco tourism, health and wellness, ski and
adventure tourism resources. Within each of the product groups a range of opportunities
exist and create the opportunity to form a range of tour itineraries for example; fortress
churches and citadel towns. Further detailed planning work will require to be undertaken
to develop and market such circuits as well as identifying development nodes as well as
detailed accommodation, infrastructure and facility requirements.
The Demonstration Project for Sighisoara, set out in this report, examines the
development requirements and standards for a development node, or sub-centre on a
Transylvanian Tourism Circuit.
4.6.2 Tourism Access Gateways
Associated with each of the clusters identified as being priority tourism development
areas, access gateways, or service centres, have been identified. The purpose of these
gateways is to provide a viable focus for tourism development in each of the cluster
areas. In the largest of the clusters, Transylvania, two gateways have been identified
serving the northern and southern areas respectively.
53
Gateways have been selected on the basis of a number of broad criteria, which include;
the availability of high quality and high capacity transport linkages, including international
linkages; a high level of existing tourism infrastructure; an established base of service
industries and tertiary education institutions. Gateways should, in addition, have a high
level of tourism resources and attractions as well as an established tourism image.
Figure 4.8: Proposed Tourism Access Gateways
Subject to further detailed study an initial list of tourist gateways, or cluster development
nodes has been drawn up. The identified centres are:
Bucharest, International gateway for airport and international rail services.

Trans-European transport corridors IV and IX. National capital, administrative,
business and cultural centre, city break and business tourism destination.
Constanta, hub for Black Sea Tourism, trans-European transport corridor IV,
international airport and rail services as well as Danube and Black Sea linkages
Suceava, international airport , rail and E58 serving the Bucovina tourism cluster
Targu Mures, international airport and route E60 serving the north Transylvanian
tourism cluster.
Sibiu, trans-European transport corridor IV, international airport and rail links
serving the south Transylvanian tourism cluster.
Cluj-Napoca, International gateway with airport, railway services and E60
serving the Maramures tourism cluster.
Particular attention should be paid in the tourism development process to ensure that
transport and other tourism infrastructure is implemented in a programmed and timely
54
fashion. Failure to coordinate the development of these centres will impede the
development of the entire cluster which will be deprived of a service base.
55
5 Other Infrastructure
5.1 Telecommunications
5.1.1 General
Romanias telecommunications system was, until recent years, a state monopoly and
suffered from a lack of investment and competition. Prior to early 1997 Rom Telecom
was the national telecommunications company. Since that date the industry has been
privatised and, in common with most other European markets, has seen the entry of a
large number of private operators, competition, improved levels of service and falling
charge rates. Liberalisation has also enabled Romania to invest in the infrastructure for
a modern and competitive IT system which is currently expanding at an impressive pace.
It has been estimated that the Romanian IT market was worth 4 billion and will grow at
a rate of around 19%12 in 2007.
5.1.2 Fixed line telephone service
The telephone voice market in Romania was deregulated in 2003 although this has not
brought about any significant changes. RomTelecom, with 89.5% of the market,
remains the dominant provider for fixed line services providing services on 3.9 million
lines. The copper wire system is now being upgraded to a fibre optic network with over
30,000 km already installed. This network, in which RomTelecom are investing 500
millions, will carry voice, data and VPN, Internet as well as video services.
5.1.3 Mobile telephone services
Mobile GSM phone services were launched in Romania in 1997 with the Mobi Fon and
Mobil Rom services. By the end of 2001 there were 3.9 million mobile subscribers, a
penetration rate of 17.3%. By 2001 the mobile phone penetration rate had reached
60%, one of the highest in Europe. By 2005 four major providers were present in the
sector with the arrival of Orange and Vodaphone and the total number of mobile
subscribers had risen to 13.5 million13 with a penetration rate, in line with other European
nations, of around 85%.
5.1.4 Internet and broadband access
Nationally, in 2006, broadband penetration was 5.5% and was forecast to reach 10% by
the end of 2006. This growth is expected to be sustained at least in part by some 336
million which the EU is investing in the IT sector up until 2013. The largest Internet
Service Providers (ISPs) are RomTelecom, Astral Telecom, and RDS. Mobile internet
access is also offered by Orange, Vodafone, and Zapp.
At the end of 2005 the number of regular internet users in 2005 was estimated to be
approximately 3.7 million. The total number of Internet users including occasional users
is estimated at approximately 4.7 million, an Internet penetration rate of 22%. Along with
12
A Growth Strategy for Romanian Telecommunications, Panagiotis Kargados, CEO, RomTelecom
13
Romanian Telecom Market Overview; Roland Berger Consultants
56
the rise in internet penetration the number of .ro Romanian domains registered has risen
from 68,000 in 2004 to 112,000 in 2005.
5.1.5 Cable and Satellite Television Services
Since the liberalisation of the Telecoms sector cable TV distribution has emerged as a
fast developing sector. At present some 45% of households have access to Cable TV
and with over 3.3 million subscribers Romania is ranked sixth in Europe by market
penetration.
5.2 Sewerage
Some 90% of the urban population and 10% of the rural population is connected to a
sewage network. Of the total volume of sewage only 77% receives full treatment ot
European standards. Of the major urban centres Bucharest, Craiova, Drobeta, Braila.,
Galati and Tulcea discharge sewage with no treatment.
The EU recognizes the low standards of wastewater treatment in Romania and the
resultant problems of nutrient pollution. In 2001 only 16.514% of all discharged water
requiring treatment was treated to the correct standard. 35% of all such water received
no treatment at all. A number of programmes have been initiated financed by PHARE,
ISPA and Sapard funding.
It is understood that the construction of a modern treatment plant for Bucharest has
been delayed by contractual disputes and has only recommenced construction. The
discharge of raw sewage into coastal water has been a particular problem and has led to
high levels of environmental damage as well as posing a health risk. Four wastewater
treatment plants at Constantia Nord, Constantia Sud, Eforie Sud and Mangalia are
presently being constructed with EU funds and are scheduled to be in operation at the
end of 2008.
All new tourism developments should, as a condition of obtaining their operating license
from the NTO, meet acceptable standards of sewage and wastewater disposal.
Developments should either be linked to the public network or have on site treatment in
the form of septic tanks or package treatment plans, dependant on the scale of the
development.
5.3 Solid Waste Disposal
Historically solid waste treatment and disposal has also been something of a problem in
Romania and the images of heavy industrial pollution in the late 1980s and early 1990s
did much to colour the international image of the country.
As a result of the fall in industrial activity in the country, particularly in the mining sector,
the volume of waste generated has fallen substantially. It was estimated that in 1995
Romania generated some 353 million tonnes of waste falling to 55 million tonnes in
2000. A national strategy for waste management has been adopted which undertook to
conform to all European Directives on waste management by 2007. Of the total volume
14
UNDP
57
of waste some 8.15 million tonnes15 is municipal and domestic waste. Around 80% of
urban areas have collection services, while collection services are almost totally absent
in rural areas. Waste not collected by local authorities is generally disposed of on a local
dump site.
Landfill is the most common method of waste disposal in Romania. The annual quantity
of waste disposed is in the order of 200,000 tonnes. There are at present 973 landfill
sites in the country, covering a total area of over 11,000 hectares. 303 landfill sites are
located in urban areas. Many disposal sites are located in unsuitable environmentally
sensitive areas, such as river banks, and only around 10% of all sites have
environmental operating permits.
While a number of initiatives have been taken and solid waste collection contractors are
now employed in all major towns and cities the legacy of many years of neglect remain.
The disposal of municipal and industrial waste is a major problem and does much to
generate a negative environmental image of the country. The outskirts of many towns
and villages are blighted by wind blown waste and fly-tipping alongside roads. In
addition many of the countrys picturesque countryside, forests and rivers continued to
be littered with unacceptable volumes of refuse. Anecdotal evidence suggests that
littering creates one of the strongest negative responses from foreign visitors to Romania
and clearly must be addressed if the country is to develop as an international
destination.
Romania has received a loan of 20 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD), which is designated for a pilot waste management project in
the city of Bacau. This project comprises a number of components, including:
Landfill modernisation, the closure of local landfills and the supply of landfill-
related infrastructure,
Waste collection vehicles, containers and landfill equipment,
Preparation of concessions and regulatory support.
5.4 Water
Water quality in Romania is a major problem, and often cited as being the major
environmental issue in the country, with both surface and ground water is heavily
polluted. The main sources of pollution are from industrial activity, including chemical
and petrochemical industries, as well as domestic, agricultural and mining waste
sources. Waste water from these sources is discharged untreated or only partially
treated. There are around 4000 waste water treatment plants, however most plants are
old and provide little more than primary screening by way of treatment. The pollution of
inland waterways from which water is abstracted is a particular problem. The Danube,
which provides much of Bucharests water, is highly polluted and contributes significantly
to water quality problems in the Black Sea.
Romania, which acceded to the EU on January 1 2007. In common with many other
new members levels of public infrastructure are below average levels of European
15
Estimated volume for 2000, source Eurostat
58
provision. The country has a population of some 22 million inhabitants of who only 15.5
million have access to a piped water supply and 11.5 million and sewage connection.
Only 54%16 of the population has access to both piped water and sewage.
The present deficit in water supply deficit is a direct result of the low level of
infrastructure provision in the sector. Supply issues have also arisen due to the
excessive consumption levels of the local population and a general lack of awareness of
water conservation issues.
The European Union has allocated Cohesion Funds of some 1 billion for water supply
and sewage projects. In addition the World Bank has provided $100 million to finance a
Rural Development Program (RDP) in five counties across the country. This programme
covers some 320 villages and a rural population of around 400,000 persons.
Most of Romania's water supply is sourced from rivers, which meet 89%17 of present
demand. They are provided by the rivers, which meet 89 percent of the present
demand. Of that total 48% is sourced from the Danube. The Danube Delta, on
Romanias Black Sea coast, is a unique natural habitat, which has been designated as a
World Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Water supply and wastewater treatment has been privatised in two of Romanias cities,
Bucharest and Ploesti. The water supply concession for the capital, which lasts 15
years, has been awarded to the French company Veolia18 and its local affiliate APA
Nova Bucharest.
5.5 Heat and Power
5.5.1 Electrical Supply
In 2004 Romania had an installed generating capacity of 18,31419 MW which was

generated from a variety of sources including nuclear, thermal and renewable. The
country had a net energy shortfall of some 6% of total demand. A breakdown of
electrical generation is set out below in Table 5.1
Table 5.1: Romanian Power Generation
Generation Source % of total

Hydro 23.28
Nuclear 9.65
Wind 0.00
Thermal, of which 66.97
coal 37.88
oil 4.38
gas 24.95
biomass 0.01
16
Romanian Water Association
17
UNDP
18
Formerly Generale des Eaux
19
Source: Austrian Energy Agency
59
Source: Austrian Energy Agency
The Romanian electrical supply industry was previously under the control of RENEL, a
state-owned monopoly. This company was unbundled into separate companies
responsible for generation, transmission and distribution. There are now seven separate
thermal producers, one hydro power generating company and Nuclearelectrica, which is
responsible for the nuclear sector.
Romania operates on 220 volt, 50 Hz electricity in common with European norms. Two-
pin plugs are standard along with the Schuko, European type F plug. The demand for
electricity had generally fluctuated in line with the countrys economic performance and
is at present growing by around 3% a year.
5.5.2 Electrical Grid
The Romania electrical power transmission grid is operated by Transelectrica, a state-

owned enterprise. The extensive distribution network has an overall length of some
600,000 km and is interconnected to the regional power grid. In 2002 Transelectrica
received a $51.5 million loan from the EBRD to upgrade the transmission network and
make it compatible with the western European power grid. The national grid operates on
750 kV, 400 kV, and 220 kV for transmission and 20 kV, 10 kV, 6 kV, 1 kV and 0.4 kV for
distribution.
In August 2006 the electrical sector was unbundled and privatised20, with a number of
foreign companies entering the market. The distribution system is furnished by 8
regional transmission companies, namely:
Electrica Banat, purchased by the Italian group ENEL

Electrica Dobrogea, also purchased by ENEL
Electrica Moldova, purchased by CEZ
Electrica Oltenia, purchased by CEZ
Electrica Muntenia Sud
Electrica Transilvania Nord
Electrica Transilvania Sud
Electrica Muntenia Nord.
The national distribution network is connected to the European Grid and is estimated to
be one of the most efficient in Europe. National generating capacity exceeds demand
and Romania is a net exporter of power. At a regional and local level the low and
medium voltage transmission networks have suffered from underinvestment in the past
and are now being upgraded as a condition of their privatisation. Some 98% of all
households in Romania are connected to the electrical grid, which is available in all but
the most inaccessible areas.
20
Transelectrica, Romanian Power Grid Company
60
While some local supply difficulties are being experienced in some areas, such as the
northern Black Sea Coast, electrical supply availability and stability is not in the medium
to long term seen as being a constraint to tourism development.
5.5.3 Gas Distribution and Supply
Romania is the largest producer of natural gas in Central and Eastern Europe, producing
6.1 million m in 2004, natural gas accounts for 20% of the countrys energy
consumption. Although production of natural gas has fallen in recent years the country
has the highest domestic demand in the region. As well as its own reserves Romania
now imports natural gas from Russia. SNGN Romgaz SA is the company responsible
for natural gas production and storage and provides over 41% of the gas consumed in
the country. Due to a more market based pricing structure demand for the fuel has been
falling in recent years as consumers become more prudent in its use.
The natural gas distribution network in Romania is managed by two companies,

Distrigaz Sud SA and Distrigaz Nord SA. In May 2005 Gaz de France acquired 51% of
Distrigaz Sud which serves over one million households and businesses in southern
Romania. The distribution network covers most of the country and appears to widely
available and utilized even in rural areas.
5.6 District Heating
Romania has a well developed district heating system, which is largely a legacy of the
previous socialist regime. Nationally around 29% of the countrys building stock receives
hot water for heating and consumption from central, or district, heating plants. This
figure rises to 55% in urban areas. District heating accounts for about 60% of the
Romanias heat and hot water demand and a total of 68 towns and cities have district
heating networks.
The majority of systems were installed prior to 1972 and as a result are inefficient, with
high thermal losses in transmission. Following the adoption of a National Strategy for
Thermal Energy in 2004 there has been renewed investment and renovation of these
systems. A key project in the programme is the construction of a district heating plant
for the city of Iai which is receiving a 20m loan from the EBRD to renovate the local
distribution network.
Among the renovation projects undertaken is that for Campeni in Alba County which has
constructed a district heating plant with two biomass-fired boilers. This plant, for a town
with a population of 10,000, incinerates local waste including wood waste and makes a
significant contribution to reducing local pollution, particularly in the River Arie.
This initiative, which was funded by the EU, is commended and may provide a model for
tourism development areas by not only providing an energy need but also tackling local
solid waste disposal problems.
61
6 Accommodation
6.1 Accommodation Categories and Supply
Full details of officially registered accommodation in Romania are published by the

National Institute of Statistics in its 'Romanian Tourism in Figures 2006'. The NTA has
a very broad range of classifications into which it registers accommodation:
Table 6.1: Accommodation Units and Bedspaces by Category 2006
Category Units Bedspaces

Hotel 1,066 167,705
Motel 154 5,359
Tourist Inn 9 278
Youth hotel 34 2,272
Hostel 41 1,240
Cabana 116 4,696
Villa 742 15,561
Bungalow 298 4,184
Pension urban 702 12,428
Pension rural 1,259 14,391
Camp site 68 26,962
School camps 128 20,261
Holiday village 2 110
Tourist halting places 31 1,034
House lets 53 4,193
Boats 7 461
Total 4,710 281,135
Source: Romanian Tourism in Figures - 2006
This reflects the formally registered accommodation stock. There is considered to be a

large "informal" stock of accommodation, mostly in smaller sized units.
The growth in capacity in the main accommodation categories in recent years is

significant.
Table 6.2: Accommodation Units and Bedspaces 2001 2006
Accommodation type 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2001-6

%
Hotels and Motels Units 968 974 1029 1077 1154 1220 26
Beds 162116 161386 164571 166362 170288 173064 7
Urban Guest Houses Units 244 271 328 461 597 702 188
Beds 3660 4320 5670 8100 10910 12428 240
Rural Guest Houses Units 536 682 781 892 956 1259 135
Beds 4736 6181 7510 9405 11151 14391 204
Youth Hotels & Hostels Units 10 12 19 31 58 75 650

Beds 365 325 626 1180 988 3512 862
62
School Camps Units 168 168 157 157 151 128 -24
Beds 33460 30099 32821 30198 28916 20261 -39
Tourist Villas Units 746 669 676 691 716 742 -1

Beds 18079 16121 16464 16107 15157 15561 -14
Source: Romanian Tourism in Figures 2006
There has been significant expansion in the hotel/motel and guest house sectors. While
there has been a large increase in hostel accommodation there has also been a larger
decrease in school camps.
Quality of Accommodation
The classification system awards stars and flowers based almost entirely on the
provision of physical facilities. There is little account taken of the quality of facilities and
service. Consequently there can be a wide spectrum of quality and price within a star
category.
Although the balance is improving, there is still a preponderance of accommodation units

at the lower end of the market with nearly 70% of rooms being two star or lower.
Table 6.3: Star Rating of Accommodation 2006
Category Units % Rooms %

5 star 53 1 1,481 1
4 star 251 5 7,787 7
3 star 990 21 24,703 21
2 star 2,084 44 57,713 49
1 star 955 20 17,749 15
Unclassified 377 8 7,400 6
Total 4,710 100 116,833 100
Figure 6.1: Accommodation Units by Star Grading 2006
Accommodation Units by Star Grading -

2006
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
Units
1000
800
600
400
200
0
d
ar
ar
ar
ar
ar
ie
st
st
st
st
st
sif
5
s
la
nc
U
63
Figure 6.2: Bedspaces by Star Grading 2006
Bedspaces by Star Grading 2006
140
120
100
80
Beds 60
40
20
0
ar
ar
ar
ar
ar
de
st
st
st
st
st
ifi
ss
5
la
nc
U
Location of Accommodation
For convenience accommodation location is presented partly by geography and partly by

destination type.
Spa resorts
Coast (excluding Constanta)
Mountain resorts
Danube Delta (including Tulcea)
Bucharest and other commercial centres (excluding Tulcea)
Countryside and other areas
Table 6.4: Location of Accommodation 2006
% %
Units Rooms of Units of Rooms
Spa 377 17,380 8 15
Coast 919 44,920 20 38
Mountain 973 13,280 21 11
Delta 144 1,319 3 1
City 818 25,240 17 22
Other 1,479 14,694 31 13
Total 4,710 116,833 100 100
The larger accommodation units are found in the spa resorts, on the coast and in the
cities.
64
6.2 Seasonality of Accommodation Supply and Occupancy
From data provided by accommodation units on the number of bedspaces they made
available during the course of the year it is possible to identify the average number of
days properties were open. This does not indicate the exact months of peak seasons in
different tourist areas, but, when compared to occupancy rates achieved, does indicate
the potential financial viability (or otherwise) of accommodation units.
Table 6.5: Operational Periods and Occupancy Levels

all Registered Accommodation by Location
Seaside Spa Mountain Delta Cities

Beds 160,214 39,090 33,196 3,806 51,734
Available Bedspace Nights 9,918,831 10,714,712 9,153,362 532,763 16,381,326
Average Number of Days Open 62 274 276 140 317
% bedspace occupancy when
operational 45 53 22 27 31
It can be seen that many of the accommodation units at the seaside operate on an
extremely short season. This has many ramifications the need to charge high
(probably uncompetitive) rates when open, personnel problems, etc. and clearly
demonstrates the need to extend the season in this area.
The relatively good occupancy rate achieved in spa resorts is made possible as the vast
majority of clients come at predetermined times on subsidised treatment tickets (Bilete)
and properties can gear their opening times and operations accordingly.
It is known that mountain accommodation units' peak occupancy is during the winter
sports season, that is principally at weekends and during national holiday periods.
There is plenty of spare capacity at most other times.
The Delta's peak season is in the summer, but accommodation units achieve a longer
season than the seaside due to shoulder and winter season special interest and activity
holidays.
While remaining open for most of the year most cities enjoy high mid week occupancy,
but suffer from reduced business at weekends and during the summer and
Christmas/New Year holidays.
Occupancy data is available on a non-geographic basis for various accommodation

types. As might be expected the peak period is in the summer months, but even then
low levels of bed occupancy are achieved. There was a low occupancy in April (Easter)
possibly indicating the normal reduction in business tourism at this period not being
offset by leisure tourism.
65
Figure 6.3: % Occupancy of Available Bed Nights - 2006
% Occupancy of Available Bednights

- All Accommodation - 2006
50
45
40
35
30
%
25
20
15
10
5
0
ay
Fe ry
ry
ch
ov er
e c er
r
ne
ril
r
Se gus
be
be
l
Ju
Ap
ua
ua
ob
b
M
ar
Ju
em
em
em
Au
br
n
ct
Ja
O
pt
D
The data indicates that accommodation supply far exceeds demand for most of the year,
which explains why in certain areas accommodation is not operational for extended
periods.
66
7 Tourist Facilities and Services

7.1 Travel Agents and Tour Operators
There are 2,638 companies with combined tour operator and travel agency licenses and
a further 184 companies licensed solely as travel agents. The high number of tour
operators is accounted for by the relatively minor additional qualifications required for a
travel agent to be designated as a tour operator. The majority of "tour operators" do not
perform this function.
Table 7.1: County of Location of Travel Agents and Tour Operators
County Combined Travel Retail Travel

Agent/Tour Operators Agencies
Alba 34 1
Arad 39 2
Arges 44 5
Bacau 75 6
Bihor 51 2
Bistrita Nasaud 45 3
Botosani 7 3
Brasov 129 15
Braila 42 4
Bucuresti 909 36
Buzau 19 6
Caras-Severin 14 1
Calarasi 9 3
Cluj 127 13
Constanta 147 14
Covasna 9 3
Dambovita 14 6
Dolj 44 2
Galati 67 6
Giurgiu 6 1
Gorj 9 1
Harghita 19 2
Hunedoara 49
Ialomita 5 1
Iasi 136 12
Ilfov 10
Maramures 37
Mehedinti 11
Mures 36 4
Neamt 30
Olt 21 1
Prahova 74 7
Satu Mare 21 4
Salaj 6
Sibiu 63 4
Suceava 67
Teleorman 8 1
Timis 100 7
67
Tulcea 27 2
Vaslui 31
Valcea 14 3
Vrancea 33 3
2638 184
Source: NTA
ANAT, the travel agency association, is one of the largest and most active tourism
industry associations.
7.2 Tour Guides
Tour guides are required to qualify at the Centrul National de Invatamant Turistic
(National Centre for Tourism Training CNIT) or other institutions specifically authorised
by the state.
There are 937 Tour Guides registered with the NTA. These comprise the following
categories:
Table 7.2: Qualified Tour Guides
National 758
Local 93
Specialist:
Mountain 56
Religious 26
Equestrian 1
Sport 1
Animation 1
Ecotourism 1
Total 937
Source: NTA
There is a good range of language skills, with guides qualified in the following
languages:
Table 7.3: Languages Offered by Tour Guides
Arabic 3
Bulgarian 1
Czech 9
English 622
French 190
German 105
Greek 6
Hindi 1
Italian 43
Hebrew 1
Japanese 29
Hungarian 20
Norwegian 4
68
Dutch 1
Portuguese 3
Polish 3
Romanian only 68
Russian 10
Spanish 26
Sweden 4
Turkish 2
Source: NTA
The regional distribution of tour guides is good.
Table 7.4: Regional Location of Tour Guides
County National Guides Local Guides Specialist Guides

Alba 7
Arad 16
Arges 20 3
Bacau 28
Bihor 12 1
Bistrita Nasaud 6 1
Botosani 3
Brasov 45 10 32
Braila 7 2
Bucuresti 278 9 4
Buzau 2 1
Caras Severin 2 6
Calarasi 3
Cluj 45 1
Constanta 19 4
Covasna 5 1
Dambovita 7 1
Dolj 6 1
Galati 2 3 2
Giurgiu 1
Gorj 4
Harghita 18 2
Hunedoara 3 2 25
Ialomita 1
Iasi 39 1
Ilfov 4
Maramures 8 1 2
Mehedinti 1 1
Mures 20 19
Neamt 11 2
Olt 6 2
Prahova 21 1
Satu Mare 5
Salaj 2 1
Sibiu 11 1 2
Suceava 22 4
Teleorman
Timis 33 2
69
Tulcea 12 2
Vaslui 6
Valcea 9 12 9
Vrancea 10 2 1
Source: NTA
Although the academic proficiency of guides and their subject knowledge is generally
high there is little training in the skills of handling and interacting with visitors.
7.3 TICs in Romania and NTA Offices Abroad
There are 37 Tourist Information Centres (TICs) in the country. For a locality to be
designated as a resort it is a statutory requirement that a TIC is provided. The majority
of TICs are funded by the local authorities. They are typically staffed by two persons,
who may also have to undertake promotional work. This results in restricted opening
hours in many cases.
Basic operational guidelines for TICs were compiled by NTA and GTZ in 2004-5. These
have still to be expanded and completed. 6-monthly training courses for TIC staff were
held up to 2005, but have not been continued.
Table 7.5: Location of TICs by County
County Town County Town

Alba Alba Iulia Ialomita Slobozia
Garda de Sus Iasi Iasi
Arad Arad Ilfov
Arges Maramures Sighetu Marmatiei
Bacau Bacau Mehedinti
Bihor Oradea Mures Targu Murs
Bistrita Nasaud Neamt Piatra Neamt 1
Botosani Piatra Neamt 2
Brasov Bran Olt
Brasov Prahova Azuga
Predeal Sinaia
Prejmer Valea Doftanei
Braila Valenii de Munte
Bucuresti Satu Mare
Buzau Salaj
Caras Severin Resita Sibiu Rasinari
Cluj Sibiu
Constanta Constanta 1 Suceava Suceava
Constanta 2 Sucevita
Covasna Sfantu Gheorghe Teleorman
Dambovita Timis Timisoara
Dolj Tulcea Crisan
Galati Sulina
Giurgiu Tulcea 1
Gorj Targu Jiu Tulcea 2
Harghita Miercurea Ciuc Vaslui
Hunedoara Orastie Valcea Raminicu Valcea
Petrosani Vrancea
Source: NTA
70
NTA has a network of 16 offices abroad located in 15 countries (two in Germany). Their
main functions are to:
provide tourist information to the public
promote Romania to tour operators
develop relations with the media
coordinate promotions, advertising and Romania stands at exhibitions
Most offices have a single staff member posted from Head Office and no local staff. The
operation of public offices in major cities as well as the salary and allowance costs of
Romanian staff means this is an expensive exercise. The market penetration effected
by such small operations is inevitably very low.
Table 7.6: NTA Offices Abroad
Country City
Austria Vienna
Belgium Brussels
China Beijing
France Paris
Germany Berlin
Germany Munich
Israel Tel Aviv
Italy Roma
Japan Tokyo
United Kingdom London
Moldova Chisinau
Russia Moscow
Spain Madrid
USA New York
Sweden Stockholm
Hungary Budapest
71
8 Human Resources and Training

8.1 Introduction
Successful and sustainable tourism development depends not only on attractive scenery
and facilities but also on competitive quality services. Hospitality and tourism is a people
industry; people providing services to people.
As one of the most competitive economic activities in the world, tourism requires
understanding, professionalism, commitment, organisation and an effective human
resource development strategy.
Hospitality and tourism consist of both facilities and services. Competitive services can
only be provided by a well-trained and skilled workforce, with the right attitude, the right
mentality, the right behaviour and the right performance.
A skilled and qualified workforce requires training, basic education and vocational
training, as well as continuous on-the-job and upgrading training.
Modern hospitality is about satisfying visitors and the competence required to meet - and
even exceed - the visitors expectations. If the expectations created by the tourism
marketing and promotion efforts cannot be met because of a lack of qualified manpower,
tourism will not be sustainable.
This does not only concern foreign tourists coming to Romania, but also Romanians in
their own country; international as well as domestic tourism. According to available
statistics from 2006, over 80% of the overnight stays were made by domestic tourists
and less than 20% by foreign tourists. All deserve quality and adequate and friendly
services.
8.2 Quality of Service
Hospitality service skills, both professional and behavioural, are still under-developed
and need a lot of attention in the coming years. Also the improvement of service attitude
and mentality is a point of urgent attention.
The level of competence in the hospitality and tourism industry is low, due to the lack of
performance standards, the lack of adequate and up-to-date occupational standards,
and the lack of adequate education and training standards.
Formal pre-service training for the needs of the hospitality and tourism industry is not yet
sufficiently developed. Real specialised vocational hospitality training, to prepare people
for a potential job in the hospitality industry, hardly exists and tourism related training is
integrated in special secondary education and in higher university education.
With a few exceptions, non-formal, continuous, on-the-job and in-service training is

almost non-existent. Some of the international chain hotels have their corporate in-
house training programmes, but the training input has a limited impact because of the
relative high staff turnover.
72
Middle management lacks on-the-job supervisory and training skills, also because
practical supervisory skills and training techniques are not included in the curricula of the
current hotel management (foreman) training programmes.
There is no training awareness and there is no training culture. This has to be

developed within the hospitality and tourism industry itself and within the government.
8.3 Manpower Situation
The hospitality industry in Romania suffers from a serious shortage of trained and
qualified staff and this constrains the overall service performance. However, a shortage
of qualified staff is not the same as a shortage of staff in terms of quantity.
The shortage of qualified staff is only partly because a large number of young people
leave Romania to work abroad, after they have received their diploma from high school
or university (but still lacking sufficient competence!), or after they have worked in a hotel
for a short time.
This shortage has a number of reasons.
The current training programmes are not training for competence and skills and are
not up to standards. Many training providers issue the diplomas and certificates
necessary for employment without delivering full and appropriate training.
A considerable number of young people are leaving the Romanian hospitality and
tourism industry to work abroad, because of the low image of a job in the hospitality
industry and the low wage level.
The management and supervisory level is lacking in-house on-the-job training skills
to keep skills up to standards and maintain performance skills.
There is no adequate continuous in-service training to upgrade the skills and

knowledge of existing hospitality staff on the various levels.
The shortage of qualified staff will further increase rapidly because of the large number
of new hotels and guesthouses currently under construction and under development
within the coming few years. Several new hotels are under development in Bucharest
as well as in other cities and places throughout the country and a large number of new
establishments are planned. All these new hotels and guesthouses need qualified staff.
However, in principle there is no particular shortage of untrained and unqualified

potential staff for the hospitality industry, although the unemployment rate has dropped
considerably from 10,2% in 2002 to 5,5% in 2006 (Source: National Institute of Statistics)
It is a wrong perception that all staff or all new staff for a new hotel need to be pre-
trained and qualified staff. In principle only a certain percentage (depending of the level
of service quality and the existing on-the-job training skills) needs to be pre-trained and
qualified, which includes mainly craft level positions. The other employees can be
trained on the job, but need to have the right attitude and mentality.
73
Currently there is no clear distinction between hospitality related jobs and travel and
tourism related jobs. Also employment statistics group employment figures within
Hotels and Restaurants, which automatically include also all independent restaurants,
fast food restaurants, small local restaurants, etc., while travel and tourism related
employment is grouped within all Transport and Tourism employment statistics,
automatically including also all public transport staff.
8.4 Employment in the Hospitality and Tourism Sector
The hospitality and tourism industry consists of two main sectors, the Hospitality and the
Travel and Tourism sectors, each consisting of different sub-sectors, each consisting of
specific jobs and job opportunities, which require qualifications and skills obtained either
through formal pre-training or continuous on-the-job training.
The Hospitality sector can be divided in three sub-sectors:
Accommodation
Food & Beverage Services or Catering services
Conferences and Events
Accommodation is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors in the tourism
industry providing a large number of jobs and job opportunities in the different parts of
the country at different career levels. New accommodation developments offer new
jobs.
The different types of accommodation establishment offer a wide range of different jobs
and career opportunities at different levels, in Hotels, Motels, Spa Resorts, Guest
Houses, Campings, etc.
The larger hotels and resorts consist of different departments such as Front Office,
Housekeeping and Conference and Meeting facilities. Guest houses often have multi-
functional teams operating the establishment managed by the owner.
Food & Beverage Services includes the various types of establishment supplying food
and beverages for consumption, from all types of hotel restaurants, separate
restaurants, hotel bars, pubs, lounges to outlets of catering firms. Not all of them
catering for tourists, but all offering related job opportunities.
Conferences and Events include all types of conferences, from large national
conventions and corporate meetings to local and regional expositions, trade shows, etc.
The planning and the organisation of these conferences and events requires know-how
and skills and offer job opportunities for skilled and unskilled staff on a full time and an
ad hoc basis.
According of the official employment statistics compiled and published by the National
Institute of Statistics, the total number of people directly employed in the hospitality
industry was around 151.000 in 2006. This includes all employment in independent
restaurants, but excludes all employees in unregistered establishments, mostly
unregistered rural guesthouses.
74
Total employment in the hospitality sector, excluding independent restaurants and other
catering establishments is estimated at roughly 88.000 in 2006, based on assumed
average staff-room ratios.
The Travel and Tourism sector includes also a number of sub-sectors.
Tour and Travel Trade Services

Transportation
Visitor Attractions
Tourism Administration and Organisation
Tour and Travel Trade Services are businesses organising tours and tour packages,
travel arrangements (inbound and outbound), ticketing and guiding tourists and tour
groups. Jobs and job opportunities can be found in Tour Operation, Travel Agencies,
Booking Agencies, Tour Facilitators and independent Tourist Guiding services.
There are currently around 1000 registered tourist guides in Romania, licensed by the
NTA. These guides are categorized as national guides and specialised guides and are
divided according to the languages they speak. Some of the registered tourist guides
operate on a freelance basis and some of them are employed by tour operators.
Registered tourist guides must renew their NTA registration every three years to keep
their license to operate valid. As the minimum registration requirements in the current
tourism legislation do not include assessing and testing the tour guiding skills, the NTA
licence is no guarantee that the guide is a skilled and qualified tourist guide.
Transportation is not only to bring people from A to B, but includes making a journey
efficient, comfortable as part of the total tourist experience. The transport sub-sector
plays an important role in the tourism industry, with air, rail, ground and water being the
major transportation means serving visitors/travellers within the country.
Visitor Attractions include everything from museums, historic buildings, monasteries

and national parks to a variety of tourist activities, such as fishing, bird watching,
mountain trekking, skiing, horseback riding and golf.
Although there are significant differences between the figures of different sources,
official figures indicate there were 675 museums in 2005. It is unknown how many staff
are employed in the museums and what are the different tasks, but it is estimated that at
least 3,500 staff are dealing with visitors in terms of providing information, selling
souvenirs, guiding visitors etc.
In general staff have not been trained to perform their jobs and are not aware about
hospitality and visitor satisfaction. Neither are they aware about tourism in general and
the importance of their behaviour for the general tourism image and reputation of
Romania. In this respect there is no difference between foreign visitors and domestic
visitors.
Tourism Administration and Organisation includes organisations, associations,

government authorities and companies specialised in serving the needs of the tourism
industry as a whole - the National Tourism Organisation/Authority to regulate the tourism
75
industry, hospitality and tourism associations regulating and representing private sector
members. This sub-sector also includes tourist information centres, regularly operated
by the tourism organisation/authority or local town halls.
In 2007 there are 37 tourist information centres in Romania divided over the various
counties and cities, with total number of staff around 90 tourist information officers. In
addition to the official tourist information centres there are a number of private
information centres and a number of visitor centres at national parks, etc. Most of the
tourist information officers are lacking specific tourist information skills on providing
information, display information and communicate information.
There is an urgent need to train the existing tourist information officers in communication
skills and the specific tourist information skills.
The public sector, within the Ministry responsible for tourism and the National Tourism
Authority employs over 130 tourism officials in the different departments, of which
several lack the specific professional skills.
No reliable figures are available about the total number of current employees in the
travel and tourism sector.
It is obvious that the hospitality and tourism industry offers a wide variety of opportunities
for employment. Jobs are not only limited to the traditional assumed operating jobs, but
also include a wide range of employment opportunities in finance, human resources
management, marketing, sales, retail, public relations, business development and
development planning.
8.5 Formal Pre-Service Hospitality and Tourism Training
Currently Hospitality and Tourism Education and Training in Romania, mainly includes
the formal education and training on tourism at a number of specialised high schools at
vocational level and at economic faculties at some universities at post high school level,
under the responsibility of the Ministry of Education.
Some of the specialised high schools do have practical training facilities, through
technical assistance aid programmes, to offer practical skills related training
programmes on cookery and food and beverage service skills. Most of the curricula are
outdated or have only recently been adjusted slightly. The syllabi are inadequate and
teaching staff lack the necessary qualifications and operational experience and to meet
the required training standards.
Teachers at schools and trainers are heavily underpaid in Romania. Schoolteachers

start at a level of about 100 Euro per month and experienced teachers earn about 300
Euro per month.
The existing training programmes are often more academic than practical, more
teaching than learning and more diploma focused than competence focused.
Some of the high schools and universities (academies) offering tourism related
programmes were visited:
76
Academy of Economic Studies, Faculty of Trade, Bucharest

IRECSON, the Romanian Institute for Economic-Social Research and Polls
Grup Scolar Economic Administrativ si de Servicii, Calimanesti
Colegiul Economic Virgil Madgearu, Bucharest
Colegiul Economic Viilor, Bucharest
CNIT Complex hired by THR-CG (Tourism, Hotel & Restaurant Consulting Group), for
Adult education programmes.
Formal pre-service hotel management training is mostly offered by universities and is

based on the wrong perception that hotel management is a non-operational job and that
students graduate as managers and are able to manage a hotel immediately. In the
hospitality industry nobody graduates as a manager, but as a potential manager and has
to start in the different operational departments of a hotel first. There are hotel
managers in Romania who had never visited a hotel at the time of their graduation.
This is the reason why the majority of the managers in the hospitality industry lack
hospitality management skills.
Tourism related training is often purely academic and is also provided by the specialised
high schools and universities. As most tourism related training is not practical skills
based, the quality depends on the curriculum, the syllabi and the qualifications of the
teaching staff.
In principle the quality of formal tourism related training is adequate and only needs
upgrading according to modern international standards.
Besides the formal education and training at specialised high schools and universities,
there is the formal system of adult education programmes through the Institute for
Tourism Education CNIT, under the responsibility of the National Tourism Authority NTA.
CNIT has contracted the execution of training programmes to a number of institutions
and training providers, among which THR-CG (Tourism, Hotel & Restaurant Consulting
Group).
These training providers are offering a range of adult education short term, long term,
full-time and part-time programmes for the hospitality and tourism industry. Training
providers must be registered and accredited by NTA, but are also lacking the required
operational expertise and qualified and experienced teaching staff.
In most cases the programme they are offering is mainly certificate focused, as anyone
who wants to apply for a job in the hospitality and tourism industry needs to have a
diploma or certificate. This rule was introduced within the labour law in 2006, as the
general service level was considered unacceptable.
Because of this, the value of a diploma or certificate has devalued considerably, as it

does not cover competence and skills, especially for the increasing number of
international standards hotel operators.
In the early nineties the Ministry of Tourism developed a strategic plan for re-organising
national tourism training. The overall objective of the strategic guidelines was to set up a
77
training network, which would, within the overall education system, equip the industry to
compete for international tourism. Part of the strategy was to establish the National
Institute for Tourism Training and Management (INFMT) as the leading body for post-
school vocational training for hotel and catering skills. INFMT was controlled by the
Ministry of Tourism and included the integration of the Parc Hotel as the main practical
training centre.
The facilities were initially constructed and equipped in 1974 through UNDP technical
and financial assistance. The former training centre complex comprises an integrated
complex with the Parc Hotel and the currently renovated Ramada Hotel. It underwent
considerable upgrading and re-equipping in 1994 and has benefited from financial and
technical assistance under the EC Phare programme.
This INFMT was further developed and transformed into the Institute for Tourism
Education CNIT complex, under the responsibility of the National Tourism Authority
NTA, and was responsible for the formal adult education programmes. The focus for
hotel and catering training was completely dominated by the formal sector, without the
involvement of the private sector.
Due to a range of problems CNIT stopped being directly involved in actual training and
outsourced this responsibility to a private training provider THR-CG (Tourism, Hotel &
Restaurant Consulting Group founded in 1998) by contractual agreement.
Since 2000, THR is contractually renting the premises from CNIT to carry out their adult
education training programmes.
The training facilities consist of a 420 seat lecture amphitheatre, a 60-seat and a 30-seat
classroom with AV equipment, an IT laboratory with computers, etc., a large kitchen with
about 20 workstations, two training restaurants and a training bar area and a library-
mediatheque with reading rooms.
The National Tourism Authority still has the responsibility of licensing the existing
training providers and accrediting the training courses delivered within the adult
education framework.
The weak point of this training strategy was that the Ministry of Tourism decided on the
requirements of the sector rather than involving the hospitality and tourism industry and
responding to training needs identified and prioritised by the industry itself.
Implicit in the strategy was "drawing up the list of trades/specialities for which the tourism
training system assures diplomas". This did not take account of the fundamental
changes to the tourism workforce that have taken place in the rest of Europe. These
changes were characterised by flexibility and multi-skilled working. This aspect of the
strategy was not appropriate to the need to reform staff structures and work practices in
the industry.
This situation continued during the last ten years and is still continuing. Although there
was already the recognition in the early nineties that the system needed to be reformed
and that it had to be linked to the emerging standardisation of European vocational
qualifications, not so much has been changed afterwards.
78
Formal education and training specifically for the hospitality industry, as a separate and
specialised vocational training, is still almost non-existent in Romania, except for one or
two private initiatives, such as the Royal Institute of Hospitality Management (RIHM),
which has created the postgraduate diploma programme on hospitality management, in
collaboration with Ecole Htelire de Lausanne (EHL) in Switzerland and of which the
first participants graduated in June 2007.
It is very difficult to assess the quantitative future manpower needs. No studies in this
respect have been made and the assessments are left to the individual schools and
universities. However, the training institutions are not used to training according to
demand, the needs and the requirements of the industry.
The current system can be characterised as teaching and diploma focused, instead of
learning and performance competence focused.
In spite of incidental adjustments of the official formal training curriculum and of

incidental relationships between high schools with specialised tourism profiles and other
European training institutes, no structural changes have been made.
8.6 Non-formal Ongoing In-service and Upgrading Training
Formal pre-service education and training for the hospitality and tourism industry, as a
preparation for a potential job in the hospitality and tourism industry is only one part of
the training needs.
Service skills, technical and behavioural, in the hospitality and tourism industry in
Romania are generally poor, although it has improved to some extent during the last five
years because of the increasing number of international standard hotels in Bucharest
and other parts of the country. However, the level of competence is still low. This is
closely related to the general lack of standards of performance and occupational
standards.
Ongoing in-service and on-the-job training to further improve the professional skills of
the workforce is currently almost non-existent, except the corporate in-house training
programmes of the international chain hotels.
This need has never been recognised. Even continuous adult education is a form of
formal pre-service education and not a form of continuous on-the-job training to further
improve skills and competence.
In modern hospitality middle management plays a key role. It is the job of the
supervisors of larger hotels and of the managers/owners of small guesthouses to run
their staff, to supervise and motivate their staff, but also to train and coach their staff
continuously, in order to achieve a better performance and to keep it on the required
level.
It is a wrong perception that all staff in hospitality should be pre-trained; in principle only
part of the staff needs to be pre-trained, and mainly the craft positions. Many can be
trained on-the-job by their supervisors. But supervisors need to be able to train their
staff and therefore need to be trained to train their staff. And also unskilled hospitality
79
staff do need to have the right attitude and mentality to become quality staff. This is
what needs to be done to solve the basic problems.
Very little on-the-job training and in-service upgrading training takes place. Currently the
weakest points of the Romanian hospitality industry are the management and
supervisory skills, including the on-the-job training skills, kitchen skills (preparation,
organisation, menu planning and management) and customer service skills.
8.7 Occupational Standards for the Hospitality and Tourism Industry
In modern hospitality education and training it is best practice to train according to the
needs of the industry; to train for jobs, based on up-to-date occupational standards.
In Romania the National Qualification Authority CNFPA is responsible for all

accreditation of formal training and for the development of training standards and
occupational standards.
In 2003 a total of 300 occupational standards were developed within the framework of a
World Bank sponsored project, of which the occupational standards for the hospitality
and tourism industry were recently updated through a GTZ technical assistance project.
During the last two years a special sectoral committee validated the occupational
standards.
However, the direct link between the occupational standards and the actual training
standards (train for job requirements) are not yet clearly visible.
There is a need for short-term technical assistance to further modernize and update the
specific job titles and occupational standards in line with European best practice. A
recommended format is given in the Annexes.
8.8 Tourism Awareness
Tourism Awareness means the basic understanding of hospitality and tourism principles,
the benefits and consequences of tourism and tourism development for the country, the
basic understanding about visitor satisfaction and customer care and the pre-conditions
of successful and sustainable tourism.
The general level of public hospitality and tourism awareness in Romania is low. Also
the level of understanding of the conditions and needs for the sound and sustainable
development of both international and domestic tourism, among those involved and
employed in the hospitality and tourism industry itself, is rather low. The majority of
public sector officials and authorities, whether at national, regional or local level does not
have a clear understanding about the basic principles of visitor satisfaction, marketing
approach, visitor behaviour and tourism business objectives.
Hospitality and tourism is a profession and understanding hospitality and tourism is a

skill, which requires special training and experience. However, many people are dealing
with the phenomenon in some way, directly and indirectly, and need to be aware about
the basic principles.
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Local planning authorities, regional authorities and national government officials in all
almost ministries and departments are in some way directly or indirectly involved in the
organisation and development of tourism. Certain planning decisions do contradict with
tourism development objectives; some development strategies disturb a sound tourism
development.
Tourism development is an extremely sensitive issue, as tourism is one of the most

competitive economic activities in the world. Tourism development doesnt come
automatically, as it relates to images and reputations. Successful and sustainable
tourism requires cooperation between all stakeholders and requires partnerships
between the public sector, which has to facilitate tourism, and the private sector, which
has to provide the facilities and the services to the various markets and market
segments. Without understanding each others objectives and each others problems
tourism will not develop satisfactorily and beneficially.
The main objective for the hospitality industry of a tourist destination is to create satisfied
tourists, who had a positive experience and are willing to return and tell others. Visitor
satisfaction involves the total experience from beginning to the end of the visit. In
principle it includes the total experience and memories resulting from taking part in the
tourism activity, which begins from the time the tourist chooses his/her holiday or travel
destination and ends when he/she returns to his/her normal place of residence.
This means that a lot of people are involved in the satisfying process and can contribute
to it or can spoil this experience. All people directly and indirectly involved in making the
tourist experience a positive one should be aware of their role and influence. This
makes general tourism awareness a basic requirement for the successful and
sustainable development of tourism.
Currently there is a low level of hospitality and tourism awareness in the country at all
levels and still a rather negative attitude and mentality towards hospitality and tourism as
a service industry.
In general there is also a rather low attitude and mentality towards providing services
and a low image of a job in the hospitality and tourism industry. This is not only because
of a lack of hospitality and tourism awareness, but also has to do with the generally low
salary level, one of the lowest in the Romanian economy.
This is also one of the main reasons that so many young people are leaving the country
to find a job in the hospitality and tourism sector abroad.
They leave because of:
Many young people dont feel respected by the older generation and by the current
legal system, the complicated law and regulations. They feel more appreciated in
other (European) countries.
The still rather old fashioned educational system, more focused on teaching and
diplomas than on learning and competence. More theory than practice.
The very low salary levels, especially in the hospitality and tourism sector
The lack of on-the-job training to improve operational and performance skills
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The rather low image of a job in the service industry

The still unsuccessful development of tourism in Romania
And still, the future of hospitality and tourism in Romania depends to a large extent on
the young generation.
A pressing issue is also the high prevalence of litter in the country, in particular litter in
tourist areas, near tourist attractions and access roads to tourist sites. The amount of
rubbish (plastic bottles especially, also glass, metal cans, etc.) that litter rivers, streams,
roads and paths is incredible. Around rural villages, there are masses of rubbish that
have simply been thrown in the ditches and forests. In general this makes a very
negative first impression as part of the tourist experience. It is an important part of
public tourism awareness and tourism awareness of local authorities.
Litter is not only a negative issue in relation to tourism, but also in relation to public
health and safety and to the environment in general.
8.9 Future Training Needs
It is very difficult to identify the future quantitative manpower needs for the hospitality
and tourism industry in Romania. Currently a large number of workers, who graduated
from one of the vocational or university educational programmes, are leaving to find a
job abroad. Also a large number of people, who started with one of the larger
international chain hotels after school graduation, are leaving Romania after a few
months practical experience.
It is estimated that less than 20% of the graduates of the tourism specialised high
schools or universities with tourism related programmes are actually ending up in the
hospitality and tourism industry in Romania.
The main reasons for this low percentage are:
The current level of competency after graduation is very low, because the quality of
the curriculum and course is too low, the lack of qualifications of the teaching staff
and the fact that the majority of the courses are not practical but mainly theory
The value of a diploma has decreased considerably
The relatively low salary level in the hospitality industry
The lack of career opportunities because of a lack of in-service and on-the-job
training
The wrong perception held by university graduates in tourism that they will start as a
manager
Romanian workers are highly appreciated in many countries in Europe and overseas.
They learn fast and are willing to work hard. The salaries earned in the hospitality and
tourism industry are usually much higher than in Romania, where the average monthly
net salary for a waiter, receptionist or room maid is about 140 Euro.
Figures about the numbers of workers going abroad and their level of skills do not exist.
Neither do figures about the average length of their absence. Roughly estimated the
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number will be between 10 and 20 % of those with a basic tourism education and a
diploma from one of the existing high schools offering a tourism related programme.
The hospitality industry primarily needs trained operational staff and does not need
academic university graduates.
8.9.1 Future Formal Pre-service Hospitality Training Requirements
In 2007 the number of staff employed in the private hospitality sector is estimated at
around 88.000, of which 67.000 in hotels, 16.000 in officially registered guesthouses and
about 5.000 in other types of accommodation.
About 6.000 in management positions, including guesthouse owners, 9.000 in

supervisory positions, 20.000 in craft level positions (cooks) and about 17.000 in skilled
level positions that should have had a formal hospitality training background and about
33.000 unskilled without a necessary formal training background.
Several new hotels are under development in Bucharest as well as in other cities and
places throughout the country and a large number of new establishments are planned.
All these new hotels and guesthouses need qualified staff.
With the number of newly built and planned hotel accommodation and the rapid increase
in the number of guesthouses in the rural areas, it is estimated that, including
replacement staff, the future annual training needs for the hospitality industry will be
around 12% to 15%.
Management level 800 - 1000

Supervisory level 1000 - 1400
Craft level employees 3000 - 4000 (kitchen)
Skilled level employees 2000 - 2500 (food & beverage service, front office,
housekeeping)
This covers about 55% of the additional annual staff needs within the hospitality industry.
About 45% of the required staff does not have to be formally pre-trained and can be
trained on-the-job, mainly housekeeping staff, food and beverage service staff, front
office staff and supporting staff. Most craft level staff does need formal training.
It is obvious that these percentages are different for international standard hotels and for
rural guesthouses.
In principle the quantitative training needs are much higher, as the available data about
the current number of accommodation establishments does not cover the non-registered
guesthouses and the many newly developed hotels and guesthouses built during 2007
and the coming few years. Also the large number of independent restaurants is not
considered, which do need pre-trained staff.
It is also assumed that still a lot of trained young people will leave Romania to work in
the hospitality sector abroad, as long as the image of a hospitality service job and the
salary levels are still low.
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A restructuring of the formal hospitality training situation is not only based on the training
needs, but should also be based on available resources and realistic possibilities.
8.9.2 Future Formal Tourism Training Requirements
The number of pre-trained travel and tourism staff depends to a large extent on the
development of tourism and the growth of the travel trade sector; the number of
additional incoming and outgoing tour operators, travel agencies and the number of
additional tourist guides.
The main requirements concern the specific skills for tour operation staff and for tourist
guides and the improvements of the respective curricula according to the occupational
standards. Also, with regards to formal tourism training, the courses should be more job
focused and tailored to the needs of the travel and tourism industry.
In principle formal travel and tourism training should be multi-skilled training programmes
to give graduates a broader job perspective.
Tourist Guiding Skills
The main job of a tourist guide is to escort groups of visitors or individual visitors from
abroad, or from the guide's own country, around the sites, monuments, and museums of
a region or city, interpreting inspiringly and entertainingly in the visitor's (own) language,
the cultural and natural heritage and environment.
From the visitor's point of view the tourist guide is a person employed directly, either by
the traveller, an official or private tourist organisation or a travel agency, to inform, direct
and advise the tourist before and during his/her journey.
The tourist guide also has the additional role of an introducer and must help his/her
listeners understand and appreciate the country. Everything the tourist guide speaks
about should come alive. He/she should present the realities of the country in the best
possible way.
The job of the tourist guide is therefore not simply to repeat a list of facts giving the
information like an audiotape, but to create the image of the country for the visitors in an
appropriate and attractive manner.
The tourist guide must be qualified in various ways, particularly in language ability and in
terms of wide general knowledge of the history, geography, art and architecture,
economy, politics, religion and sociology of his/her country or region.
The tourist guide is far more than a person who just informs, introduces, guides and
gives advice during visits. For the majority of foreign visitors, the tourist guide is the
person, native to that country, with whom they have the most contact.
The tourist guide is also an organiser and a manager, to organise and manage a tour,
either for a group of for individual tourists. These organisational and tour management
skills are less important for some of the specialised guides at sites, museums,
monasteries, etc.
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This all requires specific skills and knowledge and requires specialised theoretical and
practical training.
Tourist Information Skills
Adequate tourist information is one of the most important aspects of a successful and
sound tourism development. People being in a different and unfamiliar environment,
whether abroad or within their own country, always need information. Visitors need
information about a range of subjects; where to go, where to stay, where to eat, what to
do, what to buy, etc.
A lot of information is provided in advance through Internet or in guidebooks, but visitors

to a place, region or country are very often looking for the Tourist Information Office.
Especially in a country like Romania where most of the foreign visitors are not familiar
with the language and cannot read all the signs, assistance and information in English
(and German) is of critical importance.
But also Romanian domestic tourists need information when they are visiting other
places in the country.
Adequate tourist information is a key service for all visitors. Providing adequate
information to tourists is a key task in the total tourism experience and a key job in
satisfying visitors.
Providing adequate tourist information is a specialised skill. Producing, displaying,

handling, distributing, communicating and managing different types of tourist information
are specialised skills, which require training.
In principle, providing information to tourists is a service, but it doesnt always have to be

a free service. More and more tourist information centres in Europe are forced to
operate on a more commercial basis, selling products and services for a nominal price.
Also information does not have to be expensive full colour promotional brochures and
city maps, but can also be simple but adequate fact sheets or black and white maps,
printed on the spot.
This means that the Tourist Information Officers of tomorrow must also be familiar with
salesmanship and commercial thinking.
The public is getting used to the fact that information they need could have a price. Few
visitors nowadays expect expensive thick full-colour brochures for free when they visit a
tourist information centre. They expect simple, straightforward and factual information,
which can be printed out as a fact sheet on request.
There is an urgent need to train the existing tourist information officers in communication
skills and the specific tourist information skills.
Special training programmes for tourist information staff does not exist in Romania, not
in the formal tourism education sphere and not in the industry training sphere.
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8.9.3 Future In-service Training Requirements
Continuous in-service training to maintain and upgrade the skills and performance of the
existing staff in the hospitality industry is an urgent requirement. If operational skills are
not supervised and coached well and if the existing skills are not upgraded continuously
through refresher and upgrading courses, the performance skills will go down, affecting
the quality of service.
First of all the general level of supervisory and (middle) management has to be
upgraded, both their professional skills and their on-the-job training skills to be able to
train, coach and motivate the staff to perform better.
This will solve a great deal of the staff shortage problem and it will also improve the
general quality of service in the hospitality industry during the coming few years.
The upgrading of the middle management in the hotels and independent restaurants has
to go hand in hand with the professional and behavioural upgrading of the existing
operational staff.
This will be an enormous challenge as it concerns many individuals, but it ensures a

major step forward towards a better competitive position for Romania as a sustainable
tourism destination for the international and domestic markets.
8.10 Training Requirements for NTA Staff
Although the main responsibility of the National Tourism Authority NTA is to guide,
supervise and lead the hospitality and tourism industry and to provide services to the
sector in terms of marketing and promotion, planning and organisation, legislation and
licensing, etc., the current level of expertise and qualifications of the staff is rather low.
The NTA staff are all civil servants and the majority of them are recruited from within the
civil servants from other ministries. Only a very few do have a specific tourism education
background and are recruited as a professional. Also most of the department heads
have other backgrounds. The president (after May 2007 state secretary) and the
vice president of the NTA are political positions. On-the-job professional training has
not been provided. The current expertise derives from work experience.
Because of this lack of qualifications and specific expertise in hospitality and tourism, the
general image of NTA within the hospitality and tourism industry is very low and the
services provided to the sector are limited mainly to licensing activities and to promote
Romania as a tourist destination.
Active planning, marketing, market and sector research activities, compilation of tourism
statistics and guidance and coordination of human resource development are not part of
the daily activities.
Within the framework of the Tourism Development Master Plan project the first training
input since about eight years has been provided for a considerable number of
employees. This means that most of the staff had never had any related training at all.
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For those who do have some tourism related background, this education was mainly at
one of the universities offering a tourism programme. However, in spite of the fact that a
diploma was issued these staff members declared not to have learned much.
The general knowledge of the English language is low and needs improvement for the
following reasons:
The National Tourism Authority is and will be the main counterpart organisation
of several tourism related technical assistance programmes and donor projects.
Communication with foreign experts always needs interpretation and translation
The NTA is responsible for international relations and for marketing and
promotion the tourism products at international markets, where the common
language is English.
International hospitality and tourism is using an international accepted

terminology, which does not always have modern Romanian equivalents.
In principle the task of a national tourism organisation as NTA should be to implement

the government policy and strategy on hospitality and tourism to supervise and to guide
and supervise the private sector and to provide the necessary tools and support for a
successful and sustainable hospitality and tourism industry.
In order to achieve such a situation a drastic change is necessary, both to the

organisational structure and to the human resource structure.
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9. Marketing
9.1. Market Performance and Assessment
9.1.1 Statistical Database
Romanias tourism statistics are compiled and issued by the National Institute of
Statistics (NIS). The National Tourism Administration plays no role in the collection or
market-related analysis of tourism statistics. The NIS data series have two serious
shortcomings:
1. the frontier arrivals figures do not discriminate between day trippers and
overnight visitors. There is no measure, therefore, of tourists in the UNWTO
definition i.e. visitors spending at least 24 hours in the country. This failing
makes it difficult to compare Romania with other countries in terms of
international tourist flows.
2. to measure tourist demand, the Romanian authorities use accommodation
registrations as recorded in UNWTO data. However, these figures are
flawed in three respects:
First, not all accommodation establishments register; some
because they are not required to i.e. below 5 rooms; others
because they choose not to register and operate on the black
market.
Second, establishments are legally obliged to file a monthly return of
registrations and person bednights. However, no check is made as to
whether or not this is done. The establishments are aware of this failure
to monitor returns so a number of them do not submit them.
Third, a visitor on a tour of Romania will be counted each time he/she
registers and there is no way to establish how many different
accommodation units a visitor stays in. This multiple counting serves to
increase the numbers of tourists while reducing the average length of stay
of tourists.
These three factors lead to the conclusion that official statistics related to
accommodation demand are at best partial. There appears to be little correlation
between trends in frontier visitor arrivals and registrations at accommodation
establishments, a particular difficulty when it comes to setting credible targets of future
tourism demand and assessing future requirements for accommodation and trained
personnel.
9.1.2 Overseas Visitor Flows
Between 2000 and 2006, the volume of visitor arrivals including day visitors - in
Romania grew at an average annual rate of just 2.3%. The accommodation registration
statistics give perhaps a more accurate picture of international tourism in Romania
showing a stronger 8% average annual rise since 2000, but these data include multiple
counting of round tour tourists so the number of 1.4 million accommodation registrations
for 2006 is an overstatement of the volume of international tourists though to what
extent is unknown. Interviews suggest the incidence of round tour tourism is increasing,
thereby increasing the extent of multiple registrations, but there is no statistical evidence
88
so we can only state in broad terms that the 8% average annual growth in foreign tourist
accommodation registrations overstates the rise in tourist arrivals.
There is considerable year-on-year fluctuation with the past two years being particularly
difficult to explain. In 2005, visitor arrivals fell by almost 11% while accommodation
registrations rose by 3.9%. This pattern can perhaps be explained by the increasing
sensitivity of neighbouring countries to the floods and avian flu outbreak suffered by
Romania in that year. The reverse pattern occurred in 2006, though the variance was
less marked. Arrivals rose 3.4% while registrations declined by a similar proportion over
2005.
Table 9.1: Foreign Visitor Arrivals and Accommodation Registrations, 2000-2006
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 +/-%

p.a.
Arrivals 000 5,264 4,938 4,794 5,595 6,600 5,839 6,037
+/-% on -6.2 -2.9 +16.7 +18.0 -11.5 +3.4 +2.3
previous year
Registrations 867 915 999 1,105 1,359 1,430 1,380
000
+/-% on +5.5 +9.2 +10.6 +23.0 +5.2 -3.5 +8.0
previous year
9.1.3 Comparative Performance
A comparison with regional competitors reveals that Bulgaria, Romanias immediate

neighbour on the Black Sea coast, receives almost four times the number of overnight
foreign tourist registrations in commercial accommodation as Romania; and has
achieved an average annual growth of 11%. between 2000 and 2006 The Ukraine and
Turkey as well as smaller competitors like Serbia Montenegro far exceed Romanias
tourism growth rate. Croatias growth while more modest at 8% a year attracted 6
times the flow of international tourists registering in commercial accommodation
compared to Romania.
Table 9.2: Foreign Tourist Arrivals in Competing Countries
Country 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 +/-

%
p.a.
Austria 17,982 18,180 18,611 19,078 19,373 19,952 20,256
Bulgaria 2,785 3,186 3,433 4,048 4,630 4,837 5,158
Croatia 5,831 6,544 6,944 7,409 7,912 8,647
Czech Rep. 4,666 5,194 4,579 5,076 6,061 6,336
Greece 13,096 14,057 14,180 13,969 13,313 14,276
Hungary 12,212 10,048
Serbia/Montenegro 239 351 448 481 580 725
Slovakia 1,053 1,219 1,399 1,387 1,401 1,515
Slovenia 1,090 1,219 1,302 1,373 1,499 1,555 1,615
Turkey 9,586 10,783 12,790 13,341 16,826 20,273 18,916
Ukraine 6,431 9,174 10,517 12,514 15,629
Source: UNWTO
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9.1.4 Market Segments and Profile of Visitation
There is no existing data to permit a market segmentation analysis to be conducted of

overseas visitors. The only sources are a number of ad hoc studies detailed below
and the official accommodation statistics contained in Romanian Tourism in Figures,
2006 edition, Romanian National Institute of Statistics. The visitor studies examined
were:
Survey of Visitor Profile, November 2006 USAID/Enterprise Development
Strengthening sample of 2,268 foreign visitors interviewed in August 2006
at five Romanian tourist centres
Survey of Visitor Profile, December 2005 USAID/Enterprise Development
Strengthening sample of 625 foreign visitors interviewed in October 2005 at
Bucharest Henry Coanda Airport
Programme of Market Research - Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis
Tourist Demand, 2004/2005 INCDT (National Institute for Research and
Development in Tourism)
As a starting point, a pattern of overseas visitation can be developed from

accommodation registrations and overnights by location area. Over 70% of registrations
and almost three-fifths of nights spent by foreign visitors are in Bucharest and other
county residence towns. This indicates that a high proportion of overseas visitors are
business travellers, though many discretionary travellers will also be included saying
overnight at their gateway into/out of Romania.
There is an interesting variation in the pattern of seaside and mountain resort visitation,
with a longer average stay recorded at the Black Sea than in mountain resorts i.e.
average of over 7 nights as against little more than 2 nights, suggesting that foreigners
visiting the coast do so as their principal destination, while many mountain resort visits
are part of a circuit of other locations.
The figures for two categories Bucharest and other county residence towns and other
localities & tourism routes will include not only business and official visitors, and those
staying at their gateways, but also foreign visitors on short breaks for shopping, event
participation or sightseeing purposes, those on cultural/heritage round tours, those
engaged on ecotourist activities (other than in the Danube Delta which is recorded
separately), and visitors to friends and relatives (VFR).
Table 9.3: Foreign Tourist Registrations and Overnights, by Location, 2005
Location Accommodation registrations Overnights

000 % of total 000 % of total
Seaside 88.2 6.2 634.0 18.3
Spas 36.4 2.5 148.2 4.3
Mountain resorts 112.7 7.9 263.4 7.6
Danube Delta 22.9 1.6 46.0 1.3
Bucharest & other county 1,019.6 71.3 2,060.3 59.5
residence towns
Other localities & tourism 150.2 10.5 312.2 9.0
routes
TOTAL 1,429.9 100.0 3,464.1 100.0
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Note: columns may not aggregate to given total owing to rounding

Source: Romanian Tourism in Figures, 2006 edition, Romanian National Institute of Statistics
In attempting to develop an analysis of foreign visitor flow by purpose of visit, it is

necessary to take account of:
the fact that the volume of arrivals at frontiers are four times greater than
foreign guest accommodation registrations, a fact that can be explained to a
large extent but not completely - by the fact that day trippers from
neighbouring countries are included in the former data series;
recognising and making due allowance for the fact that accommodation
registrations are not equivalent to visitor levels as the result of multiple
registrations of certain categories of visitor, in particular those on round tours.
Allowing for an average of 1.5 accommodation registrations per guest produces a total
foreign tourist guest figure of close to 1 million a year. In very broad terms, the
consultants estimate the split by principal segment to be as follows for 2005:
seaside 6%, or 60,000 visitors
spas 3%, or 30,000 visitors
winter sports 3.5%, or 35,000 visitors
ecotourism 2.5%, or 25,000 visitors
round tours 20%, or 200,000 visitors
VFR 15%, or 150,000 visitors
short breaks various purposes 10%, or 100,000
business/official 40%, or 400,000 visitors
The USAID five-centre foreign visitor survey of 2006 indicated a breakdown by purpose
of visit somewhat at odds with that produced from the analysis of accommodation
registrations. The USAID survey indicated that holiday/recreation/leisure purposes
accounted for 60% of visitors, VFR for 12%, business for 12% and other purposes for
16%. The one-in-six visitors falling outside the three main purpose of visit categories
serves to confuse analysis. However, it is clear that structuring the research sample to
include four tourist attraction sites where the level of visitation by business tourists is
likely to be low, serves to bias the overall sample against business tourists.
It should also be noted that only reported registrations at official accommodation

establishments are recorded by the Institute of Statistics. It is apparent that a significant
number of accommodation establishments are either not registered or choose not to
report their guest data on the regular, monthly basis as they are legally required to do;
while certain categories of visitors, especially those visiting friends and relatives, do not
stay in commercial accommodation. The incompleteness of the accommodation data
tends to boost the business visitor share of total inflows.
In practice, then, the share of business in total inbound tourism to Romania is probably
somewhere between the 40% estimated on the basis of the accommodation statistics
and the 12% arising from the sample from the USAID survey.
Key visitor profile findings from the USAID survey can be summarised as follows:
a young profile with 31% of the total sample aged between 20 and 29, and a
further 25% between 30 and 39;
60% of the sample were on their initial visit to Romania, though, if only
discretionary purposes visitors are considered, this proportion rises to 76%;
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comparing the sources of travel information consulted both for all overseas
travel and for travel to Romania shows that while the internet was the most
frequently used source, its importance for Romania was slightly lower, with
recommendations from friends/relatives and travel guidebooks relatively more
important. For discretionary purpose visitors, 24% of the sample used the
internet for travel information on Romania as against 28% normally when
planning overseas travel. The gap is greater for business travellers i.e.
24% for travel information on Romania as against 34% for travel information
on other destinations.
Table 9.4: Main Sources of Travel Information
French % German % British %

Source All Romania All Romania All Romania
Travel guidebook 24 27 20 21 22 25
Friends/relatives 24 27 22 27 17 26
Internet 28 22 27 24 34 24
Previous visit 6 8 7 7 4 8
Travel agent/tour op. 9 8 7 5 9 7
Others 9 8 17 16 14 10
Total 100 100 100 100 100 100
Source: USAID Foreign Visitor Survey 2006
the choice of accommodation varied according to purpose of visit: business

visitors prefer 4/5 star hotels (47% of the sample), followed by 1/3 star hotels
(26%), with all other forms of accommodation accounting for 27%; by contrast
pleasure visitors first choice is 1/3star hotels (31%), followed by
guesthouse/B & B (23%) and 4/5 star hotels (15%), and other forms of
accommodation (31%);
three-out-of-four pleasure tourists in the USAID survey made their own travel
arrangements with only 20% using a tour operator/travel agent from their
country of origin;
satisfaction levels were scored on a scale of 1 (excellent) to 5 (very poor).
Romania scored between 2 and 3 on all aspects and for all purposes of visit.
The best scores were for accommodation, restaurants and
attractions/museums; while the poorest ratings were accorded to information
services, local transportation, and shopping.
in overall terms, visitors rated their stay in Romania as good (1.9), with over
60% stating that their visit had met expectations, 35% that it exceeded
expectations and less than 5% that it was below expectations;
over three-quarters would recommend a holiday in Romania to their friends or
family.
The extensive INCDT programme of market research covered both foreign and domestic
tourism and provides profile information for the various types of tourist location in the
country. Key findings are:
Spas: 93% of guests in the countrys spas are Romanian with the small volumes of
foreign tourists coming mainly from Israel, Germany, Holland, France, Belgium, Italy,
Hungary and Spain. Foreign tourist preference is for general relaxation rather than the
92
medicinal properties; and satisfaction with existing facilities in particular the

entertainment provided is low. The over 50s are the main guest group for spas.
Mountain resorts: the ratio between domestic and foreign tourists at mountain resorts
is 88:12. Younger age groups predominate one third are aged 20-34, and 34%
between 35 and 49. They are relatively adventurous and interested in entertainment
rather than creature comforts. 70% choose the mountains for rest and relaxation. The
greatest areas of dissatisfaction for foreign visitors to the mountains are the quality of
services and poor road/transport.
Coastal tourism: the ratio of domestic and foreign tourists to the coastal resorts is
87.5:12.5 with Germans and French tourists being the main overseas sources of visitors.
The most important age group is 35-49 accounting for almost 40%, followed by the 20-
34 age group with 32%, particularly young families. The main areas for improvement
are noted as: modernisation of room and other accommodation facilities, diversification
of leisure activities available, cleaning & maintenance of beaches, provision of specially-
assigned places for smokers, reconditioning of the ruins of the old city and other historic
attractions, and modernisation of wastewater amenities.
Danube Delta: the ratio of domestic and foreign visitors is recorded as 75:25 though it
should be noted that the sample size was small i.e. 122. Younger age groups are to the
fore i.e. 42% aged 20-34. Overall satisfaction levels are good though improvements are
necessary in respect of the diversification of leisure facilities. The consultants enquiries
among Romanian travel operators and individuals suggest that the Danube Delta has
little appeal to middle and working class Romanians for holiday visits. It is, however,
quite extensively used by Romanian businesses for team building and training seminars.
County residence cities: the domestic to foreign visitor ratio was 56:44. The main
source countries of foreign visitors are: Germany, Italy, France, UK, USA and Holland.
The middle age group of 35-49 is the most important for foreign visitors accounting for
49% reflecting the importance of business travellers to these locations while for
Romanians the main age groups are 20-34 at 39% and 35-49 at 38%. The further
development and increased diversity of leisure and other services are called for.
9.1.5 Romanians Tourism Demand
A number of studies have been drawn on to ascertain domestic tourism demand:

RoTravel 2003 national survey conducted by the National Institute for
Opinion Studies and Marketing (INSOMAR)
INCDT study referenced in section 1.4
Interviews with local travel operators have also been important in developing a profile of
Romanian tourist activities and trends.
Starting with the National Institute of Statistics breakdown of accommodation

registrations by location within Romania, it is apparent that local demand dominates
foreign custom by a factor of 3:1 in terms of registrations and by over 4:1 for
overnights.
There is a different pattern of demand by location between Romanians and overseas

guests. While the county residence towns category is the main one both for local and
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foreign demand, it accounts for a lower proportion of Romanian than foreign

accommodation registrations i.e. 40% and 71% respectively. By contrast, there is a
much higher level of demand among Romanians than from overseas visitors for
accommodation in mountain areas, spas and coastal resorts.
Table 9.5: Domestic Tourist Registrations and Overnights, by Location, 2005
Location Accommodation registrations Overnights

000 % of total 000 % of total
Seaside 625.3 14.3 3,393.2 22.7
Spas 613.7 14.0 5,155.7 34.6
Mountain resorts 715.2 16.3 1,749.1 11.7
Danube Delta 54.1 1.2 105.2 0.7
Bucharest & other county 1,736.1 39.7 3,118.1 20.9
residence towns
Other localities & tourism 630.8 14.4 1,387.6 9.3
routes
TOTAL 4,375.2 100.0 14,908.9 100.0
Note: columns may not aggregate to given total owing to rounding
Source: Romanian Tourism in Figures, 2006 edition, Romanian National Institute of Statistics
The 2003 RoTravel study found that the main holiday choices of Romanians were the
seaside and mountains. Just 5% indicated a foreign holiday a position that is
understood to have changed significantly over recent years with many destinations now
actively promoting in Romania and following the countrys EU accession.
Table 9.6: Holiday Preferences of Romanians
Type of Holiday % choosing, excluding no response/dont know

Seaside 21.0
Mountains 16.7
Rest at home 15.6
Work at home 15.0
Spa 9.2
Visit friends/relatives 7.6
Romanian tourist circuit 6.5
Travel to foreign country 4.4
Visit beautiful places & monuments 1.4
Others 2.6
Total 100.0
Source: RoTravel 2003, INSOMAR
The leading foreign destinations at the time of the RoTravel survey were reported as
Hungary, Italy, Germany, France, Greece and Bulgaria but over two-thirds of
respondents had never been overseas on holiday.
Among the various development programmes supported by the Ministry of Tourism,

there was widespread support for the creation of a Dracula Park, 60% of respondents
believing that such a development would boost tourism. Priority actions were seen as:
increasing tourist comfort (44%), protecting natural landscapes and environment (23%),
improving access roads (17%) and introducing new forms of entertainment (9%).
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Qualitative enquiries with NTA personnel, Romanian hoteliers and travel organisers
suggest the following principal Romanian holiday market segments:
Most affluent elite:

hunting
holidays with friends in the Prahova valley, Braeza the Davos of Romania and
capital of golf
Delta Nature Resort
wine tasting (Transylvania, Moldova, Crsana, Maramures)
Young professionals cultural tourism combined with ecotourism:

Transylvania
Maramures
Bucovina
Black Sea coast
Danube Delta
Middle class families:

Prahova valley
Black Sea coast
visits with friends to neighbourhood locations giving access/exposure to nature
e.g. May 1st holiday
visits to parents at Christmas and Easter
Working class:
Black Sea coast
holidays in the countryside either with relatives or staying in pensions
visits with friends to neighbourhood locations giving access/exposure to nature
e.g. May 1st holiday
visits to parents at Christmas and Easter
Older couples:
visits to children in urban areas
social programmes e.g. a week of recovery, a week on the Black Sea coast
visiting monasteries locally or further afield (e.g. Bucovina)
museums, castles
Young people typically in groups

Black Sea coast, especially Costinesti, 2 Mai, Vama Veche
active tourism in the Carpathians
Danube Delta
camps e.g. Eforie Nord, Navodari, Medieval Transylvania, Ranca in the Parang
Mountains Gorj County, Sancrai in the neighbourhood of Covasna, Bucovina,
Soveja in the neighbourhood of Focasni, and Slanic Prahova in the
neighbourhood of Slanic.
There are important variations in the leisure travel patterns between rich and poor
people. The clientele for spa resorts is almost exclusively domestic principally older
people on low incomes using the social security-funded bilete system. The image of spa
resorts among the remainder of the Romanian population is not good, the association
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being that such facilities are poorly maintained and not geared towards the needs and
expectations of younger people.
The less affluent tend not to stay in hotels because they cannot afford the cost. They
stay instead in apartments, pensions or camps. There are widespread reports both from
travel agents and from public officials in resorts of a black market in pensions that are
unregistered and, therefore, excluded from the official statistics for accommodation.
Key characteristics of Romanian leisure travel are identified as:

liking for travel in groups family, friends, colleagues,
fun and entertainment-seeking expressing their Latin spirit,
desire for good traditional food, and wine
strong interest in knowing more about their own country leading to good rates
of future demand growth for touring circuit tourism,
declining interest in spas which will only be arrested with upgrading and targeting
of the different operations to specific market segments e.g. for both the leisure
and business (i.e. conferences, training) segments,
rapidly growing interest in mountain winter sports across most sections of
Romanian society.
9.1.6 Market Perceptions and Competitive Standing
9.1.6.1 Foreign Visitors
The series of market surveys conducted through the NTA during 2006 probed the image
of, and attitudes towards, Romania on the part of the populations of 15 tourist generating
countries. Separate response was elicited from those who:
had previously visited Romania,
were interested in visiting Romania, and who
had no interest in visiting Romania.
Additionally, research conducted in 2002 by the US Romania Tourist Office with US tour
operators was also reviewed.
There is considerable variation between the countries in their perception of Romania. In

certain countries, such as the UK and France, negative associations are made with
Romania, mainly driven by media coverage in those countries. The proportionate
division recorded between negative, neutral and positive associations among the French
sample were 49%, 32% & 2% (with the remainder not holding an opinion) though three-
quarters of the sample considered themselves to be badly-informed about holiday
possibilities in Romania. The French example is the most extreme.
Generally speaking, market perceptions are not overwhelmingly negative e.g. while the
highest spontaneous association of Romania among British respondents was of
poverty/austerity, this was held by less than one-in-five included in the survey, and
positive associations such as culture/folklore/history, skiing/mountains and Black
Sea/Danube also scored well. In Germany, the same picture emerges 15% of the
sample spontaneously associates Romania with poverty, but this is lower than the 18%
associating the country with the Black Sea.
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The principal finding across all the surveys is that the perception of Romania as a
tourism destination is unclear; it has no reputation as a bona fide destination for
discretionary tourists. This is caused in part by:
deficiencies in marketing & promoting the destination,
absence of governmental support for tourism,
unprofessional tourism business sector practices,
poor visitor service standards,
inadequate tourism infrastructure, facilities and amenities.
The most positive attitudes towards Romania are found among Israelis, over a quarter of
whom mention beautiful landscape as their first impression and only 2% citing
poverty.
There is considerable variance between the attitudes of those who have direct
experience of Romania having visited the country and those who do not. The former
have more strongly positive opinions about Romania than the latter group. To give an
example, Hungarians who have visited Romania comment on tourism infrastructure that
exceeded their expectations and the beauty of the countryside and warmth of hospitality;
by contrast, non-visitors have negative impressions about roads, accommodation
facilities, public security, hygiene, and levels of service. The Austrian research found
that visitors were positively surprised when travelling to Romania. Even among the
French, the finding was that Romania improves on acquaintance. However, visitors to
Romania typically also comment on the low level of apparent environmental protection,
high littering etc.
Price levels are perceived across all markets as being low in Romania. This can be both
positive for tourism development and a problem. While low prices can provide the
stimulus for the sector to grow, a destination that becomes well-known as a cheap
destination will experience difficulty in gaining market acceptance when it attempts to
diversify into higher categories of attractions and facilities. Low prices should not
comprise an important component of Romanias destination marketing strategy.
The consequence of weak information about, and knowledge of, Romanias tourist
attractions and product offering is that travel intentions are relatively low compared with
competing destinations. Of those in the survey sample without past experience of visiting
Romania, considerably less than a half are definitely interested in a future holiday visit
i.e.
British 27% (with a further 27% who might be interested as against 45% for
Bulgaria, 40% for Croatia, 38% for the Czech Republic, 36% for Russia, 32% for
Hungary, and 28% for Poland)
French 39% (as against 60% for Hungary, 59% for Croatia, 53% for Russia, 52%
for Poland, 50% for Bulgaria and 49% for the Czech Republic)
Italians 16% (with a further 16% who answered maybe)
Germans 3% in next three years (plus 16% maybe)
Hungarians 32% all purposes (definitely or probably)
Austrians 20% (with a further 38% stating possibly)
Israelis 35%
Danes 37% of those not previously been to Romania (50% of previous
visitors)
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NB. The composition of the samples and formulation of questions varied between the
surveys, so the results cannot be directly compared. In particular, note that the German
survey related to the total population and focused specifically on holiday visits in the
short term.
Examination of the reasons for non-visitation intentions reveals that the predominant
answers related to:
lack of information/knowledge,
absence of positive destination marketing, and
fears about tourism infrastructure, facilities, amenities and service.
Of those stating an intention/interest to visit Romania on holiday, a number of key

characteristics emerge.
First, cultural/heritage tours based on Transylvania is a main interest across all markets
e.g. 41% of Italians expressing an interest to visit Romania wish to make this type of
visit. For the German, Scandinavian and French markets, the Black Sea coast remains a
strong area of interest .
Second and in contrast to the first point many Europeans interested in visiting
Romania are from younger age groups e.g. among the French survey respondents
indicating an interest in spending a holiday in Romania 23% were aged 25-34 (as
against 19% of this age group in the total sample). In the UK, possible visitors to
Romania - i.e. those to whom marketing activities need to be targeted in order to convert
their interest into demand are more activity-oriented than those who say they would
visit Romania. The UK market survey report highlights the opportunity to target:
explorers (i.e. independent travellers wanting unique destinations)
adventure travellers, and
students.
Third, activity holidays are a strong minority interest e.g. among Italians 20% want to
take a hiking holiday, 14% to go on a canoe trip in the Danube, and 9% to pursue their
interests in water sports, winter sports or other sports such as horseback riding.
9.1.6.2 Romanian Tourists
Romanians consider hotels in the country particularly at the Black Sea coast - to be
expensive offering mediocre service when compared, for example, with Bulgarian
Black Sea coast resort properties. This is leading those who can afford to do so to go
overseas for their seaside holidays with Bulgaria and Turkey especially favoured. An
example was given that the cost of a Turkish all-inclusive 4 star hotel stay is the same as
at a Romanian Black Sea coast 3 star property offering half board with superior service
at the Turkish resort. Certainly foreign destinations are highly active in promoting to the
Romanian consumer as witnessed at the Tourism Fair of Romania (29 March -1 April
2007) where:
stands were sponsored by overseas countries/regions (such as Bulgaria,
Turkey, Greece several prefectures, and Hungary), as well as by private
sector hoteliers and travel operators from these countries e.g. as least seven
from Turkey, four from Greece, and three from Hungary, while
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Romanian tour operators and representatives of foreign tour operators had

stands offering trips to at least 36 overseas destinations through agencies
such as Butterfly Tourism, Magellan Travel, Go Travel, Marshal Turism,
Paralela 45, JInfo Tours, Eximtur, Romantic Travel, Perfect Tour, CMB
Travel, Kartago Tours, Carpe Diem Travel, MTM Travel, Imola Tours,
Universal Turism, SC Altours, Paradise Travel Agency, Sens Travel, Balkan
Travel, Donaris Tours, Delta Club, Mister Go, Big Travel, Best Comtur, Best
Reisen, Family Travel, Kusadasi Tours, Oniro, Grafos, Prestige Tours,
Romadria Confort, Blue Line, Accent Travel & Events, Malta Travel, Calibra,
Itextur, Tunisiana Travel, Ali Baba Tour, and Cocktail Holidays.
The extensive offering of overseas holidays was confirmed at the Bucharest Tourism
Fair 5-6 May 2007 which was dominated by tour operators promoting foreign destination
programmes.
Figures for the summer 2006 overseas holiday travel by Romanians were presented in
the travel agents associations magazine. It was estimated that around 400,000
Romanians booked overseas holidays through travel agencies, a rise of at least 30%
over the corresponding period of 2005, when National Institute of Statistics data record
381,613 outbound holiday visits (through all types of travel arrangement) with 58% of
these being for VFR reasons.
The majority of 2006 outbound package holidays were through charter flights and
bus/coach the latter being particularly used for travel to Bulgarian resorts and for
touring circuits in Europe through Italy and France. In 2006, around 25 travel agencies
offered charter flights alone or in partnership featuring eight countries and 19
destinations, with those to Tenerife, Corfu and Cyprus being the most successful.
Table 9.7: Leading Overseas Holiday Destinations for Romanians, Summer 2006
Destination Romanian holidaymakers

Greece 120,000 of which 50,000 by charter
Bulgaria 100,000 mainly by coach or own car
European circuit (France-Italy) 100,000 coach
Turkey 30,000 charter flights on all-inclusive packages
Spain 25,000 charter
Tunisia 12,000
Malta 5,000
Egypt 3,000
Cyprus 2,000
Source: ANAT MEDIA, October 2006
In addition to the countries featured in table 7 other destinations to which holidays were
booked via travel agents using scheduled flights included: Dubai, Thailand, South
America (e.g. Brazil); while low cost carriers have boosted city break traffic to
destinations such as Paris, Rome, Milan, Venice, Barcelona, Vienna, Budapest and
Istanbul the final three being principally for the purposes of shopping.
The analysis presented in the preceding paragraphs indicates that the pattern of
Romanians holidaymaking is changing no longer is he/she captive for domestic
destinations. The interest in, and taste for, foreign holidays is growing and growing
99
rapidly e.g. travel operators report a likely doubling of holiday tourism to Turkey in 2007
over 2006. The implications for Romanian hoteliers and operators are that their offers
will be increasingly critically scrutinised in respect both of:
quality, and
price.
9.2 Effectiveness of National Tourism Authority Marketing Strategy and

Activities
The primary findings are that:

1. the NTA does not have a clear market development strategy based on full and
deep understanding of market characteristics and trends;
2. there is no full quantitative or qualitative databank of information on main tourist
source markets, a fact that, combined with the failure to use the findings of the 15
market surveys undertaken in 2005/6, means that the NTA does not have a
coherent marketing and promotional strategy or programme, based on detailed
understanding or ranking of source markets;
3. the mix of current marketing and promotional activities (i.e. offices abroad,
tourism fair participation, website, collateral materials, advertising) is not
coordinated or designed in realisation of a clear development strategy.
Marketing and promotional activities are undertaken with an ad hoc, scattergun
approach;
4. offices abroad report that they receive neither strategic direction in respect of
market positioning and segmentation targeting, nor adequate support for their
operations e.g. through hosting media and travel industry visits to Romania.
Similarly, they state that their future plans and budget requests are not
responded to swiftly (e.g. budget application made end December, no response
received by end March); while the transfer of monthly payments to cover salary
and administration costs are sometimes late by as much as a month;
5. there is no system of evaluation or performance benchmark criteria in place for
offices abroad so it is not possible to ascertain the effectiveness of their
activities;
6. the street-level, walk-in shop premises used by destinations offices abroad is a
system of representation that is being widely replaced. This is in recognition of
the fact that there is a rapidly growing computer-literate consumer in tourist
generating markets, who is increasingly using website research and booking
engines for his/her travel requirements. Serving these consumers queries can
best be achieved through electronic means supplemented with phone and mail.
Significant cost savings can be made in switching from street level

premises, both in terms of rents and the fact that non-street-level premises
can be more efficiently operated by a single person. This in contrast to street
front sites that need multiple personnel to avoid closing the office at times when
visits are made away from the office to travel operators etc.
In the UK, for example, Scotland moved from its long-standing street-level
site in the centre of the city following a fall in personal visitation from
300,000 a year a decade ago to 50,000 in 2006, with the volume of hits on
its website rising to 16 million a year. Croatia has opted for an office in an
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inner city suburb office block, equipped with the most modern electronic
communications systems. At the same time, there is a trend away from using
personnel from the destination country to marketing professionals, and marketing
representation firms, of the source market on the grounds that the latter have
better linguistic skills, market knowledge (especially important when dealing with
the travel trade) and marketing technique/tool experience;
7. Romania is not represented strongly on tourism websites: the style and design of
www.turism.ro is dated in appearance and contains erroneous information
(though is presently being upgraded); www.romaniatravel.com is not up-to-date
with tourist events for 2005 still detailed on the site; www.romaniatourism.com is
a site developed by the US office and available only in English; while the country
is not as well represented on other relevant websites as are competitor countries
such as Croatia;
8. the extensive and recently expanded programme of attendance at tourism fairs is
not monitored or evaluated in terms of criteria such as increased tourism
flow/income, or new tour operator contacts made. The impact and effectiveness
of participation at tourism fairs is, thus, unknown;
9. there is insufficient exposure of Romania and its tourist product offering in the
media of main tourist source markets, leading to at best an unclear
perception of the country as a serious and bona fide tourist destination. In
consequence, there is little groundswell of demand from the public which tour
operators expect before actively considering the introduction of new programmes
to the country;
10. the range of collateral materials is vast but many items meet a very small market
need and/or are of a design that is considered as old-fashioned by consumers
in western markets;
11. there is a shortage of in-depth knowledge among tour operator and travel
agency personnel in the main tourist source markets of Romania and its tourist
product offering. These personnel cannot sell a destination of which they have
at best a superficial knowledge;
12. Romania does not have either a clear or strong image in the marketplace, and its
destination branding gives mixed messages. Simply surprising encaptures the
fact that visitors typically find their experiences in the country exceed their
expectations but fails to recognize that surprises can also be unpleasant a fact
that can serve to magnify even small problems out of proportion;
13. the NTA is not positively regarded either by the Romanian private sector or by
regional or local administrations around the country. This may be because of a
combination of inappropriate structures and systems of communication,
inadequacy of technical skills, the political system of the appointment of the top-
level posts, or other factors. Left unchanged in terms of structure, personnel and
systems, the NTA will not achieve the necessary close and productive working
partnerships necessary to lead the establishment of Romania as a major tourism
destination.
It is, thus, clear that the NTA has structural, communications systems and technical
deficiencies in respect of the design and execution of its national tourism destination
marketing and promotional responsibilities.
The Master Plan research programme did not incorporate detailed research either in
tourist source markets or with individual NTA personnel on their work responsibilities or
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procedures. Assessments are, therefore, based on our understanding of trends in

international tourist market preferences and destination marketing practices. The
following observations are made as a contribution towards understanding why the
present difficulties have arisen.
Changes of leadership. The lack of continuity and consistency in the presidency of the
NTA leads to poor follow-through of work commenced under one leadership by the next.
In consequence, on one hand, there is a loss of much valid work and duplication of
effort; while, paradoxically on the other, there is tendency for an unquestioning
acceptance of certain approaches e.g. attendance at travel fairs abroad, maintenance of
network of offices abroad.
Overall direction and strategy. No clear or detailed statement of strategic direction exists
either for the overall development of tourism, or governing the design and execution of
the marketing and promotional campaigns carried out in domestic and foreign markets.
This is occasioned in large part because of the frequent changes in the top posts within
the NTA, and the fact that the most senior posts are filled through political appointment
rather than professional recruitment. It is important to note that the issue of a lack of
strategic direction has been recognised and the present Tourism Master Plan is intended
to be a key input to the formulation of future tourism development and marketing
strategy.
Coordination. Marketing and promotional activities are selected on an ad hoc basis at

the initiative of individual personnel. This was especially apparent in the case of the use
of the supplementary budget funds in markets abroad in the second half of 2006. The
choice of activities on which to spend the funds allocated was largely left to the offices
individual managers with little or no coordination. Indeed, as pointed out by one of the
office managers, even the business cards of the personnel of the various offices have
different designs.
Weak perception within Romania. The NTA is generally negatively regarded by both
regional/municipal administrations and the Romanian tourism private sector on the
grounds of being out of touch with their needs and developments. In consequence,
there are many locally-supported tourism developments that are proceeding without the
NTA being included in the information loop. It appears, for example, that there is
minimal communication between the NTA and the Bucharest mayors office, a situation
that results in the NTA having limited information on developments in its own capital city.
In respect of marketing and promotional activities, there is often a conflict between what
the private sector believes is needed and what the NTA driven to a large extent by
political considerations decides to finance.
Market statistics and data bank. The absence of a directional strategy for tourism
development and marketing is largely the result of the shortage of quantitative and
qualitative information on major tourist source markets including domestic tourists.
This is partly as a result of the inadequate statistical reporting of foreign visitation to
Romania but also because of the weak system of information exchange communication
between head office and the offices abroad.
102
In consequence, there is a notable absence of either research-based justification for the

marketing and promotional activities selected to be undertaken by the NTAs Promotions
Division or any detailed monitoring, assessment and evaluation of these activities
against pre-specified targets and criteria.
Technical deficiencies. It is matter of concern that little use of the series of 15

international market surveys conducted in the past two years has been made in shaping
future destination marketing and promotion strategy these reports contain much valid
analysis that can be used in positioning and segment targeting. This is seriously under-
utilised resource. While there can be a number of explanations, it would appear that
there is a shortage of technical expertise in the Promotions Department to interpret
market research and convert these analyses into targeted marketing and promotional
programmes.
Tourism Fairs Abroad. There is concern about NTA tourism fair participation in a
number of respects: first, the number of fairs abroad attended by NTA personnel; the
layout, design and operation of the stands; second, the question of how to assess the
results obtained from the fairs; third, the system of support for the participation of private
sector personnel; and, finally, the ways in which the stands are manned and visitors
received and provided with information.
This is another area where a detailed study is required leading to:

a revised procedure for deciding on the selection of fairs at which to
participate,
the definition of assessment and evaluation criteria against which the cost of
participation should be measured,
the establishment of a system requiring attendance and active participation
by private sector personnel as a condition for the financial support they
receive from state funds, and
a requirement for participating NTA personnel to be trained and qualified in
effective operation at tourism fairs, according to established procedures.
Website Development. There are a number of websites dealing with tourism in

Romania. The Ministrys own website www.mturism.ro is available only in Romanian
language and is principally an information rather than promotional tool. The promotional
sites are: www.turism.ro available in four languages (i.e. Romanian, English, French,
Italian) but with outdated material e.g. the list of offices abroad features some that have
been closed and gives the address of the UK office as that which they moved from in
March 2000; www.romaniatravel.com again in four languages but not up-to-date with
tourist events for 2005 still detailed on the site; and www.romaniatourism.com a site
developed by the US office and available only in English.
In addition there are many independent sites that prospective visitors use for information
and research. Romania is absent from www.europe-travelers.eu, Lonely Planet, and
other well-known traveler websites. Registration on some home pages is free of charge,
while on others the cost is minimal.
The consultants understand that the upgrading of the NTAs promotional site was being
supported through USAID but that this activity became stalled when the NTA officer
responsible went on maternity leave. We understand that the process of redevelopment
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of the site has recommenced with the new site likely to be launched later in 2007. In
order better to communicate with and inform the independent traveler, this must an
absolute priority, as should be the registration and subscription to other relevant travel
and tourism sites.
Brochures and other Printed Materials. With increased consumer use of websites to
research their prospective destination, and a growth in the number of travel guidebooks,
there is less need for brochures on different regions and themes related to the tourism
product. Indeed, many destinations now concentrate on a single brochure with smaller
leaflets on new or emerging destinations, themes etc.
A total of over 30 brochures, guide books, leaflets and maps were produced in 2006. All
13 brochures, the Romania Practical Guide, the George Enescu Festival and Ancient
Fortresses leaflets and the series of maps were all produced in four languages i.e.
Romanian, English, French, German; most were also made in Italian and Spanish; while
a number were also in Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Dutch, Hungarian and Hebrew. In
total over 2 million pieces of print were produced. This relates solely to 2006:
considerable stocks still exist of titles produced in previous years. On top of this are the
brochures and other print items produced by the tourism associations (e.g. related to
ecotourism, spas and bed and breakfast), local authorities and private sector operators.
This volume of brochures is simply too great creating confusion rather than clarity in the
marketplace. The NTA brochures are characterized by a number of failings:
an excess of text with few and relatively poor quality photographic
illustrations,
a surfeit of titles, some of which overlap and do not always contain consistent
information, and
design and quality of paper and production that is dated by western
standards.
Destination collateral materials serve two purposes: as a sales tool to persuade a

prospective visitor to choose the destination; and to provide information about it. At
present, however, brochures are not used in a professional, targeted way; they are
handed out by staff at fairs to anyone who puts their hand out, being used, one
suspects, as a means of covering up their lack of detailed product knowledge.
The pressing need is for Romania to have a state-of-the-art website supplemented by a

set of dynamic collaterals that provide a clear identity of the destination through common
stylistic designs. As a maximum, there should be a high quality national tourist brochure
and a series related to each of the primary product areas i.e. culture/heritage,
ecotourism, short breaks, health and wellness, seaside and water sports, mountains and
winter sports. Beyond that, individual cities, regions etc. within the country should be
responsible for producing their own collaterals as well as other marketing tools such as
websites but encouraged to follow the NTAs stylistic designs. There is considerable
scope between the NTA, regional/local authorities and private sector operators to work
together on brochures.
Network of offices abroad. The consultants conclude that the network of offices abroad
should be subject to detailed review and assessment in respect of:
the number and countries in which they are located;
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the selection of premises within the country i.e. street level vs. office
premises;
use of own tourist office vs. contracting market representation firm;
use of Romanian vs. source market national personnel; and
appropriate assessment and evaluation criteria related to their effectiveness
in generating increased tourist flows to Romania.
Consider the figures for arrivals from each of the markets in which Romania has tourist
offices, the growth rate of recent years and the cost of operation of the office in 2006
these are presented in table 9.8. In overall terms the marketing investment per arrival
generated - below Euros 2 (all destinations considered) and Euros 5 (excluding the
neighbouring source countries, the flows from which are dominated by day trippers) - is
not high. The average expenditure by the 47 countries considered in the UNWTO report
Structures and Budgets of National Tourism Organizations, 2004/5 is Euros 2.30.
The investment can be justified in countries with large populations with good levels of
discretionary disposable income and free time and with an established pattern of holiday
taking abroad. The wisdom of investing in new opportunity markets like Japan and
China is not challenged since the type of cultural/heritage tour offered through
Transylvania is likely to be very popular in these markets. What is challenged is the
present network of offices abroad on cost-effectiveness grounds in respect of:
the operation in small markets like Sweden and Belgium,
the use of street level, walk-in shop premises, and, in certain markets,
the operation of own tourist offices rather than using market representation
firms.
Table 9.8: Indicators of Romanian Tourist Offices Abroad
Country 000 arrivals +/- % p.a. Cost of Cost per arrival

2006 2000-2006 Office(s) Euro
Euros 000
Germany 343 +5.0 1,058 3.0
France 130 +11 660 5.1
Italy 278 +8 758 2.7
UK/Ireland 101 +10 382 3.8
USA 130 +10 753 5.8
Spain 43 +23 1,262 29.3
Belgium 27 +7 488 18.1
Austria 152 +13 746 4.9
Japan 14 n.a. 75 5.4
Russia 54 -5 216 4.0
Hungary 1,367 +4 253 0.2
Moldova 1,490 +1 34 0.02
Israel 62 +5 204 3.3
Sweden 18 +1 233 12.9
China n.a 296 n.a
TOTAL (exc, 4,209 +3 7,418 1.8
China)
TOTAL (exc. 1,338 +7 7,131 5.3
China, Japan,
Hungary and
Moldova)
105
Notes: a. office costs in the USA, Japan, Russia, Moldova, Israel and China converted from US $
to Euro at rate of 1.25:1
Sources: National Institute of Statistics (arrivals), NTA (office costs)
Domestic marketing and promotion. The NTAs marketing and promotional focus in
respect of the domestic Romanian leisure tourist is concentrated on three components:
participation at tourism fairs,
printed brochures,
website, and
advertising using various media forms.
Each of these are important communication tools but are not being utilised to maximum
effect.
The following observations are made based on visits to the NTA stands at the two
tourism fairs in Bucharest in March and May 2007:
the NTA stand at the Romania Tourism Fair occupied an area of 350m2, cost an
estimated Euros 60,000 and hosted 11 Romanian tourism associations and
institutions;
the design of the stand framework covered by plastic covering depicting Sibiu
had a cheap appearance and there was little division of the space within the
stand to provide areas for one-to-one meetings;
with so many representatives on the site, a clear designation of use of the
available space is essential this was not the case so it was difficult to locate a
participant relevant to a specific interest and the crowd of people on the stand
constituted a barrier to the consumer walking by to enter the stand;
NTA personnel did not appear to understand how to engage consumers they
typically stood holding brochures, thrusting these into the hands of people
passing by or who entered the stand;
when entering into discussion with the public, the scope of conversation was
generally limited to ascertaining which brochure would be relevant to the
consumers interest little offer of follow up assistance was made to the mystery
shopper organised by the consultants;
demonstrations of food, drink, music and dance from the different parts of
Romania should be allocated a clearly defined space and timetable.
The NTA stand at the Bucharest Tourism Fair followed a similar design except the
covering depicted Bucharest and layout. Fewer other bodies were incorporated within
the stand as compared with the Romania Tourism Fair so there was an impression of
empty space. Again, the NTA personnel on duty appeared uncomfortable with their
assigned tasks of talking to and assisting consumers in their enquiries while the stocks
of brochures acted as their comfort zones. The choice of certain brochures seemed
puzzling. For example, supplies of the Congresses and Conferences brochure were on
the stand yet this is aimed at conference organizers whereas the fair was for the
general public!
The advertising approach for the domestic market using the theme rediscover
Romania has recently been introduced as an attempt to dissuade residents from
going abroad but instead taking a domestic holiday.
Public:Private Consultation and Collaboration. The NTA appears to be isolated from the
different strands of the countrys tourism private sector when planning and conducting
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destination marketing and promotion activities. There are two contributory reasons: the
private sector does not speak with a single voice instead the different representative
associations and bodies all seek to advance their own vested interest in dialogue with
government; and, second, there is no formal consultative process between the NTA and
the private sector, everything being done on the basis of ad hoc meetings frequently led
by the head of the NTA rather than by the Director Promotion Division and often,
therefore, dominated by political considerations. There is, thus, a lack of regard or trust
from the private sector in the NTAs destination marketing activities and, certainly, no
incentive for the private sector to contribute monies towards the countrys marketing
efforts.
Private Sector Knowledge of International Tourism Business Practices. The

communications difficulties between the NTA and the private sector are not limited to the
State agency. There exists within certain sections of the Romanian hotel/resort sector
an ignorance of:
a) international tourism distribution systems and the standard tour operator practice
of forward allocation of blocks of rooms at preferential rates; and,
b) the opportunities to transact business at tourism fairs abroad, provided that
when they attend such events they are available and prepared for negotiations.
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10. Environmental Impacts

The natural environment provides probably the greatest assets for Romanian tourism.
The natural heritage, flora, fauna, coast, delta and mountains all provide strong reasons
to visit and the opportunity for fulfilling holidays. If the environment is spoiled, or even if
visitors' perception of it is damaged, these cogent reasons to visit will disappear.
Environmental protection is consequently crucial to tourism.
Romania has the benefit of extensive environmental protection legislation. Its record in
implementing this legislation is, regrettably, not so good and many abuses of the
environment are permitted. In some cases environmental degradation is the legacy of
man's previous actions; in many cases recurring malpractice is evident.
There are a number of areas of concern, including:
Coastal erosion on the Black Sea, which is eating away the prime attraction of
coastal tourism
Silting of the Danube Delta and rivers, which, though a result in main of natural
causes, needs speedy remedial action through dredging, etc.
Abuse of the protected areas through unregulated logging and inappropriate
construction of recreational and residential facilities
Poor waste management, particularly in rural areas, with unprotected land fill
sites and indiscriminate waste disposal
Continued discharge of untreated waste water
The visual as well as environmental pollution of long redundant industrial sites
Litter and its collection here a grassroots approach is needed to encourage
every individual to dispose of rubbish appropriately
The lack of a re-cycling ethos among the population at large
Excessive visitor levels in environmentally sensitive areas, heritage attractions,
etc., calling for visitor management schemes
As important in the field of tourism as actual environmental problems is the perception

that the environment is damaged and that the country is unconcerned about protecting
its environment. This deters potential visitors. Remedial action both needs to be taken
and also needs to be seen to be taken. Romanians in general are proud of their country
and environment and will readily adopt beneficial environmental policies if provided with
appealing campaigns 'clean up', 're-cycling', floral, etc.
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B National Tourism Policy, Governance and

Organisation
1. Tourism Policy
Policy and legislation are the foundations on which the industry is built. The tourism
policy and the existing legislation is reviewed and commented on in this section. This
includes:
The National Development Plan
and thirty two pieces of legislation covering:
Organization and Performance of Tourist Activities in Romania

National Tourism Authority Establishment
Registration, classification of tourist accommodation and tourist services
Licensing of travel agencies/tour operators and tour guides
Insurance bonds for tour operators and travel agents,
Guest registration and protection in accommodation establishments,
Travel and tour operator consumer protection
Tourists safety
Super Ski in Carpathian Mountains
Tourism areas, resorts, Spas and the Black Sea area
Q Brand
Blue Flag
Other legislation impacting on tourism, covering such areas as the environment,

transport, land improvement, coastal areas, vocational training is considered within the
relevant sections of the report.
1.1 National Development Plan
The National Development Plan (NDP) for economic and social development is a
component of the National Economic Development Strategy. It was adopted in
December 2005 and is the fundamental tool aimed at diminishing the economic and
social development disparities between the European Union (EU) and Romania.
The plan considers that Romanias tourism industry has the potential to contribute to
this reduction in disparities and includes tourism in the public development investment
priorities.
The general objective for the tourism sector as set out in the plan is: The capitalization
of the tourist and cultural potential of the regions and increasing the contributions of
these fields to the regions' development through their rehabilitation, by 2015, of 200
tourist and cultural sites and increasing tourisms contribution to GDP by 1.25%.
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As already stated Tourism is identified as a development priority sector. In achieving the

long term competitiveness of Romanias tourism and improving Romanias image, stress
is laid on marketing Romania as an international tourist destination.
In addition, the plan identifies tourism as a means of achieving a number of other

strategic priorities, such as improving competitiveness by improving businesses access
to the market by promoting specific economic products internationally and domestically
through tourism. The development of a national tourism brand, the plan states, will have
a contribution to the country brand, which impacts on inwards investment and current
account balances.
Investments in tourist infrastructure, in agricultural and rural tourism are identified as a

means of contributing to supporting the balanced development of all regions of Romania,
raising living standards in rural areas and diminishing the development disparities
between the countrys regions.
The plan identifies the majority of the main tourism resources as being located within
socio-economic underdeveloped areas. It states that the stimulation of the tourism
sector could lead to the revitalization of these areas, by integrating them within the
tourist circuit, and eventually within the economy.
Regional and rural tourism development is identified as one of the five sub-priorities in
the strategy to bring about a balanced development between the countrys regions.
Development of the natural and cultural heritage and activities focusing on the natural
and cultural landscape are seen, in the plan, as the means of developing and promoting
tourism. Tourism can create jobs in disadvantaged areas through the improvement of
infrastructure and tourism services, protection of the environment and heritage,
rehabilitation of existing plant and traditional resorts of special importance, and
diversifying tourism offerings, developing eco-tourism, spas, winter sports, cultural and
historic tourism. Family businesses and micro enterprises get special mention as they
can increase occupational opportunities at local level.
The Plan identifies the following key issues to be addressed to facilitate the future
growth of tourism:
Instability of the institutional framework responsible for developing tourism

strategies and policies;
Lack of cooperation between tour operators;
Low contribution of tourism to the GDP;
Insufficient tourist information and promotion;
Poor general infrastructure, mainly in terms of transportation, communications
and services;
Large number of old accommodation structures;
Low accommodation occupancy rates;
Underdevelopment of the potential to start up small and medium sized
businesses;
Underdevelopment of tourism products and focus on accommodation and meals.
The findings in the World Tourism and Travel Council report on Romania are in line with
the key issues (above) identified in the National Development Plan.
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1.2 Current Legislation
1. Organization and Performance of Tourist Activities in Romania
Ordinance No. 58 of 1998 for the Organization and Performance of the Tourism
Activity in Romania came into force in November 1998.
The legislation declared tourism as a priority in the national economy and positioned the
Ministry of Tourism as the tourist authority. It defined tourism terms and expressions
including; tourism reception structures resorts, tourist packages etc. In a very
comprehensive manner it sets out the registration of tourist assets, identification and
controls and protection of resorts, including ski resorts. The functions of the Ministry of
Tourism in development, control, promotion, training and research are established.
Provision is made for licensing, licensing qualifications, vocational tourism training under
the authority of the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Tourism.
The roles of local authorities in tourism are defined, as are the obligations and rights of
tourist operators - travel agents, service providers etc. The funding of safety and life
guard teams are the responsibility of local administrations.
Industry organizations and associations are provided for with legal authority from the
Ministry responsible for tourism.
Tourist areas and resorts benefit from priority status in relation to necessary
infrastructure works, promotion and environment protection. Support for private
initiatives is provided through state promotions of Romania and leasing of state and local
administration lands.
Sanctions and penalties are provided for, where:
Unauthorized Travel Agents offer, market, sell or create tourist products

Unclassified tourist reception structures, hotels etc perform tourist activities
Misinformation is provided
Operators fail to compensate tourists for damage or for providing inferior quality
Travel agents/tour operators are not bonded
The ordinance provided for the establishment of a Consultative Council of Tourism to

operate as a consultancy body to the ministry on national tourism programs and
strategies. The council membership was drawn from the private sector of the industry.
The Council ceased to operate in 2005.
It is difficult at this stage to measure the inputs and the value of the Consultative Council
to the development of tourism. Its existence did demonstrate recognition of the
necessity for input from the private and commercial sectors to the formulation of policies
and strategies.
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Commentary
The Ordinance is, as stated already, very comprehensive and far ranging in the tourism
field. While the Decision 413 of 2004 established the National Tourism Authority,
subordinated to the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Tourism, the National
Tourism Authority performs its activities in accordance with the provisions of this
Ordinance.
2. National Tourism Authority Establishment
Government Decision No. 413 of 2004 regarding the Organization and Functioning
of the National Tourism Authority came into force on February 1st 2006.
The legislation re-established the National Tourism Authority (NTA) as a public institution
under the Ministry of Transport, Constructions and Tourism, financed from the state
budget through the budget of the Ministry of Transport, Constructions and Tourism.
In 1998 the government tourism organization was a separate Ministry (Ministry of

Tourism), with a Consultative Council of Tourism, later changing to a National Tourism
Authority reporting directly to the Government. Since 2002 it has changed a number of
times, - ministry, NTA under a ministry, a ministry, NTA under the Ministry of Transport,
Construction and Tourism, and most recently as a department in the Ministry of Trade,
SMEs, Tourism and Liberal Professions.
The following is a summary of the main responsibilities of the NTA as stated in the
present legislation:
Implements national tourism policies and strategies;
Promotes Romania as a tourist destination in the international and domestic

markets using funds approved by the Ministry;
Organizes the registration and certification and monitors the use and protection
of the tourism heritage, according to the law;
Drafts policies and annual marketing and development programs;
Licenses tour operators, tourist guides, etc and classifies tourist accommodation,
promoting quality control in all tourism services;
Approves planning and construction in all tourist areas and resorts;
Coordinates the EU, UNWTO and other tourism technical assistance programs.
Article 4 states that The expenses necessary for the activities performed by the National
Tourism Authority shall be born entirely from the state budget through the budget of the
Ministry of Transport, Constructions and Tourism.
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For promotion and development purposes the travel expenses for media, opinion
makers and craftsmen can also be financed out of the NTA budget and the NTA can
cooperate with county and local councils as well as associations in promotion and
development programs.
The legislation sets the maximum number of employees at 123. Within this number, and
with the approval of the Ministry, the NTA can establish, fund and staff representative
offices abroad.
The President (State Secretary) and Vice President (Assistant State Secretary) are
appointed by the Prime Minister on the proposal of the Minister. The President and Vice
President are effectively the Chief Executive officer and Assistant Chief Executive
Officer of the NTA.
The responsibilities of the President are set out in the legislation and include personnel
appointments, legal representative of the NTA, contracting, decision making and
accounting for its funds.
The NTA may sign agreements with foreign and domestic entities.
The legislation sets out the number of vehicles for the organization and the fuel allowed
for each vehicle
Commentary
The legislation makes no provisions for providing advice or guidance on marketing or

development to third parties such as the industry and county and local authorities, or
promoting development or human resources development.
Article 4, which states that the NTA activities shall be funded entirely from state funds,
seems to restrict the NTA from generating funds from any other sources or charging fees
for licensing, publications or other services. This requires its funds, that could be better
used for marketing etc., to be used for licensing and services that would be self-
financing in most tourism authorities.
The specification that travel expenses are allowed for media, opinion makers and
craftsmen appears over restrictive as it implies that they cannot be used for other
persons expenses.
The legislative limit on the number of personnel, the number vehicles and fuel amounts
appear trivial in primary legislation and restricts the organization in responding to
workload and performance demands.
3. Classification of Tourist Establishments
Decision No. 1328 of December 27 2001 Classification of accommodation and

catering establishments,
and
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Order No. 510 of 28 June 2002 set out the process for the classification of
accommodation and catering establishment and the criteria for such
classifications.
The orders state that the primary aim of classification is the protection of tourists. They
set penalties for contraventions of the classification requirements.
Applicants for classification must produce evidence of:

Company registration;
Sanitary-veterinary authorization;
Environmental authorization;
Fire Prevention authorization;
Labour protection authorizations;
Management and staff qualifications.
Order 510 allows for time to be given in certain circumstances for an applicant to make
improvement to obtain or retain a classification.
Criteria and the number of points to be obtained are set out for each classification
including bed sizes, minimum temperature, information for guests and maximum tariffs
posted in Euro.
The following classifications are provided:

Hotels 5-1 stars
Hotel Apartments 5-2 stars
Motels 3-1 stars
Youth Hotels 3-1 stars
Hostels 3-1 stars
Villas 5-1 stars
Bungalows 3-1 stars
Tourist Cabins, Hunting Cabins, Fishing Cabins 3-1 stars
Vacation Villages 3-2 stars
Camp Sites 4-1 stars
Camping Chalets 3-1 stars
Inns 2-1 stars
Urban Guest Houses 5-1 stars
Rural Guest Houses 5-1 flowers
Apartments or Rooms for rent inside homes or within Buildings 3-1 stars
Accommodation on River or Sea Ships 5-1 stars.
Catering Facilities are classified into five categories; restaurants, bars, fast food,
confectionary and patisserie. These are subdivided into 16 sub-categories and
restaurants further subdivided into 10 sub-categories.
Certificates of classification are issued on a three yearly basis. Provision is made for the
publication of national and county lists of classified accommodation.
Commentary
The legislation is very comprehensive and detailed.
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An interesting clause in the licensing requirements is the exemption for private homes
with a maximum of five bedrooms/apartments for rent from producing hygiene, fire and
labour authorizations. This legislation appears to allow private houses with up to 5
apartments, each possibly containing 5 bedrooms, to be exempt. This exemption needs
to be reconsidered.
The team, in its consultations with the industry, found that un-classified or "black
economy" houses catering to tourists is a major cause of complaint as constituting unfair
competition for the classified accommodation providers.
The number of accommodation classifications at 16 is too numerous and must be

confusing for the tourist, as must also the numerous sub-categories in the catering
range. The categorisation of catering establishments by the NTA is unnecessary.
Health and safety are the responsibility of other organisations.
The requirements for fire and hygiene safety certification and the requirement to display
maximum prices in Euro are positive consumer protection requirements, as are the other
specified tourist information notices.
The three year timing for certificates and consequently assessments permits
classifications to become out of date.
4. Tourism Licensing and Certification
Decision No. 238 of February 2001, Decision No. 305 of March 2001, Order No. 170
of April 2001 and Decision No. 631 of May 2003 conferring of tourism licenses and
patents to Tourism/Travel Agents, Tourist Guides, Hotel and other management
personnel.
This legislation provides for the licensing of Tourism Agencies and the professional
certification (patent act) of the management of agencies and accommodation premises
and the attestation of tourism guides.
The licenses are issued for three years but may be suspended or revoked by the NTA
for certain infringements.
The criteria for the tourism licenses for agencies and certificates for operators and
management are detailed and, according to the legislation, were established following
consultations with the relevant professional and industry associations and trade unions.
The holders of the following positions require certificates:
Manager of Tourism Activity

Tour Operator Agency manager
Retail Tour Operator Agency Manager
Hotel, Motel, Camping Manager with more that 100 bed spaces
Restaurant Manager of Class 1 and Luxury establishments with a seating
capacity of more than 50 diners at tables
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Chalet Administrator
Decision 305 of 2001 makes it obligatory for agencies to use only qualified guides, which
are categorized as follows for touring activity in Romania:
Local Guide, for limited territory

National Guide, for national territory and abroad
Specialized Guide, for certain segments of touring activity
Decision No. 631 0f 2003 extended the issuing of guide certificates (to work in Romania)
to citizens of EU states and the European Economic Area. Applicants for such
certificates must produce proof of qualifications issued by authorized institutions in their
home states.
Foreign guides are allowed to accompany, as guides, groups of foreign tourists visiting
Romania without obtaining a Romanian certificate.
Penalties are provided for infringements including the use by agencies of non certified
guides.
Commentary
The legislation for licensing and certification of agencies, tourism management and
guides is comprehensive and with the provision of good training of the assessors and
proper implementation assists in obtaining good standards.
5. Insurance for tourists in cases of bankruptcy or insolvency of travel agencies

(Bonded Operators/Agents)
ORDER No. 235 of 2001 on the Tourists Insurance in the case of Bankruptcy or
Insolvency of the Travel Agency.
Tour operators and retail travel agencies are required to hold insurance to cover return
costs or repayments to their clients, who have purchased a package, in the event of
bankruptcy or insolvency.
The insurance amounts required are US$ 50,000 for tour operators and US$ 10,000 for
retail travel agencies.
The Order specifies that the insurers must be approved by the Ministry of Tourism (NTA)
in consultation with the Insurance Supervisory Commission and that the insurers
periodically transmit to the Ministry insurance policy details on all authorized agencies.
Failure to have bonds for package sales can be penalized by the withdrawal of the
agency license.
The Order specifies the insurers and policy holders duties and obligations and the
methodology and time scale for payments under the scheme.
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Commentary
Overall the legislation is satisfactory in the cover it provides for outbound tourists. The
amounts of cover required may be insufficient in todays terms and should be revised
upwards and, if possible under the Romanian legal system, be tied to inflation for the
future.
6. Guest Registration in accommodation establishments and the protection of

guests and their goods.
Decision No. 237 of February 2001 for the approval of the Norms regarding the
access, the evidence and the protection of the tourists in touring reception
structures.
The Decision requires all accommodation providers, hotels, motels and pensions etc. to
accommodate tourists if there is available accommodation. The provider is required to
have all guests complete an arrival/departure form. In the case of rural pensions a book
may be used instead of the standard forms. The legislation sets out the information
required and that the forms must be kept for five years and made available to the
authorities if required.
The accommodation provider is also required to ensure peace, public order and the
safety and privacy of the guests and the security of their goods. Minors, under 14 years,
cannot be accommodated unless accompanied by their parents or legal representative.
Penalties are provided for non-compliance by the accommodation provider
Commentary
The requirements in the legislation are standard. However, there are two comments to
be made. The use of the term tourist should be replaced by the term guest as all
guests may not fit the international definition of a tourist.
More important, the legislation does not provide any limitation on the accommodation
providers liability for the loss or damage to goods belonging to guests. Such a limitation
is a standard internationally, where the obligation to receive and accommodate all
comers is stipulated, as it is in this legislation.
7. Tourist packages and the obligations of travel agencies and tour operators.
Ordinance No. 107 of July 1999 as amended by LAW No. 631 of November 2001
regarding the tourist service packages marketing activity.
The Ordinance as amended by Government Law No. 631 of 2001 puts in place
legislation on the lines of the EU Package Travel Directive for the protection of
consumers purchasing tourist packages in Romania for travel within or outside Romania.
The ordinance specifies the components of a tourist package as being at least two of the
following: transport; accommodation, and other service which is not a significant part of
the transport or accommodation provision. It specifies the seller's obligations to the
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purchasing consumer in relation to the clarity of the offer, information on visa and other
formalities, itineraries, accommodation type and standard, contractual details, terms of
compensation and component replacement.
The National Tourism Authority and the Office for Consumer Protection are named as
the control and enforcement bodies.
Commentary
The Ordinance as amended is in keeping with the EU consumer protection directive on

package travel.
8. Standards for the development, maintenance and exploitation of ski trails and
tracks and National Program for the development of mountain tourism through
central and local investment in ski facilities.
Order No. 491 of October 2001 for the standards regarding the homologation,
development, maintenance and exploitation of recreational skiing trails and
tracks.
The Order establishes the Ministry of Tourism as the authority to certify ski slopes and
ski tracks and sets out the criteria and conditions for homologation, development criteria,
maintenance and exploitation.
It also sets out the conduct rules for skiers and other persons on recreational ski slopes
and tracks.
LAW No. 526 of December 2003 for the approval of the Super-ski in the
Carpathians National Program for the Development of Mountain Tourism.
The law approved by Parliament provides for a program of development of mountain

tourism with particular emphasis on ski and winter sports in a range of stated locations
over a staged time period.
The law provides for surveys, selection of lands and the drafting of plans leading to the
development and rehabilitation of infrastructure, access, services, utilities and the ski
and other sports facilities as well as accommodation. Special provision is made for the
transfer of lands from state, public or private property and from the National Forest
Administration. Surveys and implementation plans require Government approval. The
surveys are to be financed by the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth.
Implementation is to be coordinated by the Ministry responsible for tourism in

cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth and the National
Agency for Sports. Central and local public administration authorities in public-private
partnerships are designated to implement the program.
Funding is to come from:

State and local budgets
Internal and external credits
Internal and external aid programs
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Private sector
Other sources
Commentary
The legislation regulates ski slopes and tracks and the behavior of people on slopes and
tracks. The legislation No. 526 has put an emphasis on winter sports development and
rehabilitation in certain identified areas and provides for surveys (feasibility studies) to be
completed and government approvals for the implementation of each stage.
9. Vocational Training for the Tourism Industry
Ordinance No. 58 of 1998 for the organization and performance of the tourism
activity in Romania
Article 26 states that vocational training for tourism activities shall be performed by the
private or state educational units, authorized by the Ministry of National Education and
the Ministry of Tourism.
Government Ordinance No. 129 of 2000 on Adult Vocational Training, as elaborated by

Decision No. 522 of 2003 and modified by Decision No. 1829 of 2004 sets out the
general provisions, including the organization of vocational training, the authorization of
vocational training providers, certification and financing of vocational training for adults.
Commentary
The laws appear adequate to provide for and control vocational education. However,
the control of training institutions appears to be not fully implemented. Complaints about
very poor standards prevailing in many of the private training institutes are voiced.
10. Area Management, Environmental, Resorts and Water Areas Controls and
Management
There are a number of pieces of specific environmental related legislation covering
Integrated Coastal Management (202 of 2002), Black Sea Coast Controls (19 of
2006), Nautical Leisure Activity (452 of 2003), Certification of Resorts (867 of
2006), Touring Zones and Resorts (31 of 1996), and the Blue Flag (335 of 2002).
In addition there is a range of general planning laws and environmental control laws.
Commentary
There are adequate laws to protect the tourist sensitive areas and the general
environment. However, their application and the protection of the environment leaves a
lot to be desired in that undesirable developments are allowed, refuse is evident on the
streets, countryside and in streams and rivers
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1.3 Visa Regime
The visa regime is very liberal and conducive to tourism growth. There are 104
countries whose citizens do not require a visa to enter Romania. These include all the
primary markets for Romania. Citizens of the Russian Federation and neighboring
countries Moldova, Montenegro and Ukraine, which have been and are potential
significant markets, require a visa. As these are issued on arrival, no problems should
arise.
Citizens of the Peoples Republic of China and Belarus require a visa issued in advance,
on submission of an invitation and bank guarantee. The Chinese authorities have now
designated Romania as a favored tourist destination. The visa requirement could be an
impediment to growth from this market.
1.4 Licensing and Classification System
The classification of accommodation and catering establishments is legislated for under

Decision No. 1328 of 2001 and Order No. 510 0f 2002. The sixteen categories are too
many and confusing particularly for the consumer. There is a need to have them
rationalized.
Licensing and Classification criteria have been developed and published by the National
Tourism Authority (NTA). The licensing and classification of accommodation and
catering establishments and the licensing of tour operators, travel agents and guides is
being implemented by the regional representatives of the NTA. There are over four
thousand accommodation establishments licensed and, in addition, there are the
catering establishments, tour operators, travel agents and licensed guides. The twelve
regional representatives are totally insufficient to perform the licensing and classification
workload. They also appear to be technically ill-equipped to apply the classification
criteria as evidenced by the range of disparities between the ratings awarded to hotels.
The implementation of the licensing and classification is unsatisfactory at the present

time with the following consequences:
Some properties do not fulfill basic requirements in fire safety and hygiene;
A large number of bed and breakfast establishments have not licensed, thereby
creating a very significant black economy. This is undermining the profitability
and reinvestment capability of the legal operators;
The classification system is in disrepute within the industry and travel trade;
Guest guidance and safety is undermined.
The classification requirements lack in qualitative criteria in relation to services and food
standards. The quality of services is as important as the presence or absence of
services. The criteria need to be reviewed for the accommodation establishments and
qualitative criteria added.
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Restaurants and other food catering establishments are not normally classified by
National Tourism Organizations. Unlike information on accommodation, tourists do not
require information on restaurants and food outlet establishments before visiting a
destination. Restaurant selection is usually made on the spot, looking at the premises
and the menu outside the premises, on personal recommendations or using food or
other travel guides. The continuing classification of catering establishment by the
National Tourism Organisation is an unnecessary burden on the organization's
resources.
A national classification system is primarily a marketing tool, which can also be used as
a development tool, to raise standards which in the long run can enhance the sector. It
is not a negative for the industry. A classification system can therefore only be
successfully implemented where there is a good understanding and partnership between
Government authorities and the private sector of the tourism and hospitality industry.
Unfortunately, this does not exist in Romania at the present time.
Accommodation and catering providers must be well educated in the benefits derivable
from a system, especially about the positive impact it will have on their business. In this
respect, it is necessary to have well-trained classification assessors with a hospitality
background. These should be more private sector inclined as advisers rather than as
government inspectors.
Licenses are granted on a three year basis. This is too long and does not provide for
changes that can occur during this time scale. All licenses should be annual with a plan
for frequent inspections.
The existing legislation governing the NTA does not allow for the imposition or collection
of licensing fees.
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2 Governance and Organisation

The Ministry of Transport, Construction and Tourism (MTCT), was the ministry
responsible for tourism until mid-April 2007. It is headed by a Minister who is a member
of the Cabinet. Following a cabinet reshuffle the tourism responsibility was re-allocated
to the Ministry for Trade, MSEs, Tourism and Liberal Professions. The National Tourism
Authority, while being established by legislation, is an integral part of the ministry. All the
personnel in the Authority are civil servants and the executive head is a State Secretary.
2.1 National Tourism Authority (NTA)
The National Tourism Authority was established under the Romanian Government
Decision No. 413 of 2004. The NTA has been part of the MTCT charged with the
following responsibilities:
To implement national tourism policies and strategies;
To apply strategies for tourism infrastructure;
To promote Romania as a tourist destination at home and internationally;
To protect the tourism heritage;
To license and classify tourism service and accommodation providers;
To control the quality of all tourism services;
To approve planning proposals for tourist areas and resorts and constructions for
tourism use;
To coordinate international technical assistance programs for tourism;
The NTA head office is situated in Bucharest with 12 regional offices each covering a
number of counties. It has a total of 123 staff (the maximum allowed by legislation) of
which 12 are based in the regional offices and 20 in the market based offices. The
number of staff is inadequate for the responsibilities of the NTA.
For instance, as already mentioned, the licensing and classification implementation is

unsatisfactory. The organization is unable to fulfill its control role over the beach and
resort areas. It is not guiding, promoting or securing tourist product, services or
infrastructure developments.
The role of the NTA in human resources development for the industry is limited to
accrediting training providers and the approval of their programs. CNIT The Institute
for Tourism Education, which is under the President (State Secretary) of the NTA, has
eleven personnel. It appears to be dormant and playing no active role.
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The consequences are that the industry is in a human resources crisis as no

organization is researching, planning or ensuring that the human resources and training
needs of the industry are being addressed.
Eighty eight of the personnel in the NTA have higher qualifications but few are
experienced in tourism. The President of the NTA, who is the chief executive, is a
political appointee subject to frequent change with consequential changes in direction for
the organization and Romanian tourism. There is consequently a lack of stable
leadership for the sector. The frequent changes in the leadership of the NTA must have
contributed to the lack of support for structural strengthening and training for the NTA
under the PHARE programs and of input to the planning and allocation of the Structural
Funds. It is understood that the funding of a Tourism Master Plan was offered under the
PHARE program but was not accepted.
The 2007 budget for the NTA as expressed in Euro is just over Euro 13.6 million
Current Euro m.
Personnel 1.531 11%

Goods and Services 1.980 14%
Materials 775 6%
Activities 8.006 59%
Capital
Other 1.364 10%
Total Euro 13.656 100%
The allocation of the budget between overheads and activities is in line with the average
allocation by National Tourism Organizations in Europe. However, the salary levels in
Romania compared to the average salary levels in Western Europe distort such a
comparison.
In 2006 the 16 offices abroad had budgets in total of Euro 7, 356,000 divided as follows:
Salaries 4%
Administration 11%
Fairs 20%
Advertising 65%
The salary levels for the personnel abroad appear low, for example Euro 16,887 in
London and Euro 17,805 in Munich must be difficult to live on with the local cost of living.
The number and location of the offices and the budget allocation to fairs and advertising
is commented on in the marketing section.
The structure of the NTA on transfer from the Ministry of Transport, Construction and
Tourism to the Ministry of Trade, MSEs, Tourism and Liberal Professions was structured
as set out below. The staff establishment (Total 123) is shown in brackets.
123
Minister for Transport, Construction and

Tourism
Transport Construction Tourism
Internal
National CNIT
Audit
Institute of Institute for Tourism President (1)
(1)
Tourism Education
Research and
Development
Presidents Office
Vice President (1)

Manager
Personal Councillor
Assistant
Personal Secretary
Courier
Total (5)
Strategy Licensing and Finance and Promotions Intermediary

Control HRD Body
Gen Manager Manager Manager General Manager General Manager
Deputy Gen Manger Deputy Manager Superior Councillor Manager Deputy General
(2) Manager
Superior Councillor Secretary Superior Councillor
(5) Principal Councillor (8) Superior
Principal Councillor Superior Legal Councillor (3)
Advisor Superior Expert Principal Councillor
Assistant Councillor Principal
Principal Legal Principal Expert Assistant Councillor Councillor
Principal Expert (4) Advisor (2)
Asst Legal Advisor Superior Referent (3) Assistant
Assistant Expert (3) Assistant Expert (4) Councillor (2)
Superior Councillor Assistant Referent
Superior (6) Principal Expert Assistant Expert
Specialised Cashier
Referent Assistant Experts (3) Trainee Expert (2) Principal Expert
Storekeeper (2)
Principal Expert Superior Referent
Total (17) Buffeteer Trainee Expert
Trainee Expert Specialist Referent (3)
Driver (2) Abroad (20)
Superior Principal Total (13)
Referent Total (15) Total (41)
Principal Inspector (8)
Assistant Expert (3)

Total (29)
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The regional structure of the NTA is under resourced in manpower and other resources
to act as regional offices and representatives of the NTA. Licensing dominates the time
of the officers. Communications between the industry, the regional authorities and the
NTA in Bucharest suffers and is nearly non-existent.
The plans and targets developed by the NTA are aspirations and not focused and
without clear responsibilities or accountability within the organization.
2.2 Tourism Organization at Regional, County and Local Government

Level
The Romanian local government is constituted in forty one counties, Bucharest

Municipality, six distinct local councils, 314 local city councils and 2,852 local commune
councils. The local and county councils are policy making authorities, the mayors are
executive authorities. There are eight development regions with Regional Development
Agencies. The Regional Development Agencies are established under the regional
development legislation and are constituted as foundations. Each has a Board of
Directors drawn from the local administrations. They are funded by central government,
local administrations and the Structural Funds. Each has an Executive Director
appointed by its Board of Directors. The Development Agencies are pivotal bodies in
the application of the EU Structural Funds.
Ordinance No. 58 of 1998 for the organization and performance of the tourism activity in
Romania sets out the following obligations in the tourism field for county councils and the
General Council of Bucharest:
Inventory of main tourist resources;
Administration of the local registers of tourism patrimony;
Drafting of the development proposals, which are the basis for the annual
program for tourism development;
Participation in the homologation of tourist tours and ski tracks;
Contribution to the increase of quality of tourist products;
Supervision of tourist activity, in order for the operators to have access to tourist
resources.
Some local authorities have taken strong action to develop and promote the industry
within their areas. Others have developed proposals without progressing them.
Improvements should be made to the general performance in preserving, maintaining
and presenting monuments and museums. Generally they do not have strategies or
plans on marketing their regions on the domestic market. They lack qualified personnel
and are not exposed to training on current trends and developments in tourism. There is
need to agree with the counties and town halls clear and well defined activities for the
local organizations to better support the national tourism effort and tourism in their own
areas.
2.3 Commercial Sector Organisations
The following commercial/professional private sector organizations are in place:
Federation of Romanian Tourism Employers
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Romanian Hotel Industry Association
Romanian Association for Accommodation and Ecological Tourism (ARCTE)
National Association of Tourism Agencies (ANAT)
ANTREC
Spa Owners Association
Association of Ecotourism in Romania
National Association of Tour Guides
National Association of Mountain Rescue
National Association of Mountain Guides
Romanian Convention Bureau
The professional associations for guides and mountain rescue personnel serve the
needs of their members and arrange training. The Romanian Association for
Accommodation and Ecological Tourism ARCTE is successful as a marketing group
for its B&B members.
The Romanian Convention Bureau is a private sector organization composed of hotels,

tour operators etc. that are involved in the Meetings, Incentive, Conventions and
Exhibitions (MICE) sector. Its primary role is promoting its members. It holds itself out
as promoting MICE business within and to Romania but has no realistic budget for such
marketing. There is a need to have in place a bureau that markets Romania
internationally as a MICE destination.
The effectiveness of the industry representative bodies in furthering the interests of, and
lobbying on behalf of, the commercial sector of the industry can be measured by the
poor state and problems of the commercial sector resulting from the following:
The absence of public private partnership in tourism;
The ineffective destination marketing;
The high rate of employee's personal taxation;.
The performance of central and regional public bodies;
The lack of training for the industry;
Outdated training systems and curricula;
The general lack of tangible government support for the industry.
126
In discussions with individuals in the commercial sector, particularly in the

accommodation related sector, it is evident that there is a communications gap between
the associations' managements and their members. There is very little understanding of
the objectives and roles of the associations and in what the associations serve them.
2.4 SWOT ANALYSIS of Policy, Governance and Organization
Amongst Romanias policy, organizational and legislative strengths are the stated
commitment to tourism of the Prime Minister, and the national prioritization of tourism.
The accessibility of EU Structural Funds and the progressive visa regime should assist
tourism grow.
The remit of the National Tourism Authority (NTA) is over concentrated on controls with
its marketing effort highly dependent on trade and consumer fairs. The exercise of
minimal influence on the development of the product and facilities is a significant
weakness. This and the lack of professionalism in the sector have restricted the growth
of tourism. Furthermore, the Industry is disorganized and lacks a single voice to
articulate its needs and influence government policy. The absence of meaningful
communications and cooperation between the public and private sectors undermines
any positive future for the industry
Strengths and Weaknesses in National Tourism Policy, Governance and Organisation

Strengths Weaknesses
Prime Ministerial Commitment Absence of Stability in Public Sector Tourism
National Prioritization of Leadership
Tourism Absence of Private Sector Leadership
Extensive Legal Framework Absence of Semi Autonomous NTO
Liberal Visa Regime Existing NTO Under Resourced
Inadequate Funding
Lack of Government Targets for NTO
Lack of Public/Private Sector Communication
and Cooperation
Lack of Inter-Ministerial Collaboration and
Cooperation
No Structure for Public/Private Sector
Communication
Lack of Effective Single Industry Voice
Poor Local Government Tourism Organization
Licensing Regulations not Meeting Market
Conditions
Inadequate Implementation of Current
Legislation and Quality Controls
Lack of Targeted Outputs
Lack of Professionalism
Lack of Tourism Awareness
The opportunities for tourism lie in implementing this Tourism Master Plan with the
clarification of the public sector roles, targets for growth, a reconstituted NTO and the
establishment of a national all-industry representative body with a strong industry voice.
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The significant threats are any failure to implement this master plan or the downgrading
of tourism in national priorities. Lack of industry unity and failure to target and prioritize
could undermine the industry.
Opportunities and Threats for National Tourism Policy, Governance and Organisation
Opportunities Threats
Implementation of Tourism Failure to Implement Tourism Master Plan
Master Plan Downgrading of Tourism as National Priority
Accessibility of EU Funds Failure to Restructure Central and Local
Restructured NTO with industry Government Organizations
involvement Continued Industry Disunity
Properly Resourced NTO Lack of Targets and Prioritization
Strengthened Local Continuing Instability in Tourism Leadership
Government Tourism and Dysfunctional NTO
Organization and Role
Government Targets for NTO
Effective Industry Voice
Implemented Tourism
Legislation
Public/Private Sector
Partnership
Introduction and
Implementation of Updated
Quality Controls
Improved Public/Private Sector
Communications
Implementation of Tourism
Awareness Program
Inter- ministerial Cooperation at
Official Levels
Strengthened Central and Local
Government Communications
Key Conclusions
Policy, Legislation and Organization

National policy, as expressed in the National Development Plan, identifies
tourism as a priority sector of the economy and an important contributor to the
development of the regions and rural areas.
The legislation governing tourism in Romania is comprehensive and overall is in

harmony with European Union regulations. The resources to implement the
legislation are not in place.
It is strong in the area of consumer protection. However, the following need to be

addressed:
o The NTO being limited to the State Budget as its funding source;
o The limits on NTO personnel, vehicles and fuel consumption;
o The very high number of accommodation and catering categories in the

Classification legislation;
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o The classification of restaurants and other catering establishments;
o Licensing being for a three year period;
o The use of the term tourist for guest in Decision No 237 of 2001;
o The absence of a limit of liability for accommodation providers in regard to

loss and/or damage to guests goods.
As part of the ministry responsible for tourism, the National Tourism Authority is
the implementation agency, concentrating on controls and marketing. The
development of tourism infrastructure, products and services lacks a driver and
coordinator at central level.
The human resources and training needs of the industry are not being
addressed.
The National Tourism Authority, with a frequently changed political appointee as

chief executive, lacks stable leadership, is under-resourced and is restricted in
actions and recruitment by its status as part of the Ministry.
Public/private sector consultation and partnership is virtually non existent.
The communications between the NTA and local administrations is very weak
and the NTA is not influencing or driving development.
The commercial sector lacks a much needed strong single voice to articulate its
needs to the NTA and government. The overall state of the commercial sector of
the tourist industry and the lack of government support underline the need for a
strong single industry voice.
There is a view that new legislation is required to enable the collation of tourism
revenues generated by international and domestic tourists. This is not so.
Tourism revenues are collated from exit surveys conducted at airports and
border points, household surveys and information on foreign exchange
movements supplied by the countrys central bank-the National Bank of
Romania.
The major issue to be addressed is the lack of implementation of the legislation.

At present the resources are not in place to implement and enforce the
legislation.
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3 Investment Policy and Constraints

3.1 National Tourism Authority Investment Policy
The National Tourism Authority (NTA) does not possess a formal policy on investment
nor does it possess a dedicated development division or department within its structure,
which can undertake project appraisal, feasibility studies and other activities related to
investment. Consequently it possesses no staff members who have either experience or
awareness of the world of investment and project development.
In the recent past, when Government placed the operational activities of tourism policy
and organisation under a dedicated Ministry of Tourism, there was indeed a General
Division for Strategy, Privatisation and Investments within the Ministry. However, the
role performed with respect to privatisation was largely one of monitoring a technical,
financial and business procedure undertaken by another Ministry, while activities
associated with investment were concerned with the development of sectoral
infrastructure programmes (i.e. ski, spa, beach/delta, mountain etc.) in co-operation with
various county councils and municipalities.
A national tourism investment programme for the period 2006 to 2008, focusing upon
infrastructure in the sectors identified above (plus funding for Sibiu Cultural Capital of
Europe 2007) and amounting to Euro 325million, is currently underway in partnership
with the county councils and municipalities, despite the word investment no longer
appearing in the title of the department involved with the programme.
The infrastructural programmes are co-funded partly from the budget of the Ministry of
Tourism/NTA and partly from county council/municipality sources and were the result of
co-operative action to identify locations and projects, which could be undertaken over a
three year implementation period. Many of these projects were already identified by the
county councils and they were supplemented by others, which were developed out of
indicative market research studies commissioned from the National Institute of Tourism
Research and Development and paid for by the Ministry of Tourism/NTA.
Many of these projects require feasibility, engineering and environmental studies, which
the co-funding procedure pays for. However, the commissioning and analysis of these
studies is undertaken entirely at the county council/municipality level with limited input
from the Ministry of Tourism/NTA. Implementation and oversight of the project
development process is similarly in the hands of the county councils/municipalities and
the engagement of private sector companies to operate certain of the infrastructure
facilities built, such as ski lifts, restaurants, bars etc., is also handled locally.
The Ministry of Tourism/NTA does have much greater involvement when the
infrastructure concerned is construction of new Tourism Information Centres and the
provision of tourist maps, brochures and other promotional activities, but the technical
project development is still handled at county council/municipality level.
Financing the programmes is a joint activity between Ministry of Tourism/NTA and the
county councils/municipalities, but transmission of the Ministry of Tourism/NTA
contribution is made directly from the Ministry of Finance to the county
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councils/municipalities on the basis of the project development procedures and controls

undertaken at the local level.
The Ministry of Tourism/NTA thus has a role in the development of, and investment in,
public sector tourism infrastructure through commissioning some market research and
co-operating in a co-financing arrangement with county councils and municipalities, but it
is not engaged with the commissioning and analysis of feasibility studies or the
technicalities of the project development and implementation process. Neither does this
limited role have any real contact with the private sector. It is anticipated that funding for
similar programmes and projects identified after 2008 will be sourced from European
Union Structural Funds.
The development world outside of public sector infrastructure provision is principally

driven and occupied by private sector investors, developers, operators and their
professional advisors. This is a world from which the NTA is largely disconnected and
consequently unfamiliar with.
3.2 Government of Romania Investment Code
At present, even at a national level, there is no Investment Code in place in Romania.

This is because the previous code held numerous provisions and measures, which were
incompatible with Romanias accession to EU membership and would thus be illegal or
would be replaced by EU wide provisions and policies such as in the case of the EU
Common Customs Tariff and the availability of EU Structural Funds.
A revised Investment Code has been prepared but apparently aspects of this revised
document have also been deemed illegal and much of the content has been regarded as
unacceptable by political and business interests asked to review the document. A major
review of this revised Code was initiated earlier in 2007 but the results have yet to be
made public and it is likely that recent political events and Governmental changes will
delay publication further.
The previous Investment Code was designed primarily for major investments of in
excess of Euro 1 million but focussing on projects worth tens of millions of Euros and
more. The Code had the purpose of stimulating investments in Romania in order to
promote a sustainable economic development of the country and thus was multi-
sectoral in approach with no particular advantages for one sector over another, although
research and development and environmental protection investment was encouraged
with slightly better conditions. Tourism was not separately identified.
Quite separate from the Investment Code is the Governments internal fiscal policy
which it has the discretion to change without the control and direction of EU policy.
Romania has the freedom to set its own tax rates for VAT, profit, income and other tax
related areas, which bear upon the friendliness of the business climate. Decisions
taken, which reduced and simplified tax rates from January 1st 2005, have helped give
Romania what is considered to be a relatively attractive business environment. The
standard rate of VAT became 19% but a special concession to tourism was introduced
which allowed hotels and other accommodation providers to charge only 9% on room
sales, although they must still charge 19% on food and beverage sales. Profits tax and
income tax were both standardised at a flat rate of 16%.
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C Strengths and Weaknesses of Romania as a

Tourism Destination
1. Strengths of Romania as a Tourist Destination
Geographic and Environmental
o Danube Delta's biodiversity (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
o Diversity of National Parks and Reserves - 7% of the country with pristine
forest, lakes and rivers
o Rich and varied countryside with picturesque villages
o Black Sea coast and beaches
o Carpathian Mountains
o The River Danube and extensive river network throughout the country
o Extensive cave networks
o Rich diversity of flora and fauna, many unique or most populous in Europe,
especially large carnivores
o 35% of Europe's natural springs and "mofeta" providing wide range of spa
treatments
o Temperate continental climate
o Good natural conditions for tourism activities skiing, hiking, riding, cycling,
mountaineering, water sports, etc,
Culture and Heritage

o Diversity of heritage sites monasteries, archaeological sites, fortified
villages etc. including 6 UNESCO World Heritage sites/areas
o Medieval towns
o Rural villages featuring traditional way of life and festivals
o Museums diverse themes
o World class performing arts - both classical and modern
o Wide range of traditional and folklore Festivals
o Legends Dracula etc.
o Sibiu Cultural Capital of Europe 2007
Infrastructure, Transport and Communications

o Good network of airports
o Extensive rail network fourth largest in Europe
o Extensive road network with many border crossing points
o National air carrier with good network of destinations and many other carriers
o Good quality intercity coach services and other tour operator transport
o Well developed network of river harbours
o Well developed telecommunications networks telephone, radio, GSM,
satellite
o Electrical power supply in 95% of country
o Significant private sector investment in new accommodation
Human Resources
o Country of welcoming people and a tradition of hospitality
132
o Young population with linguistic skills providing many potential tourism

employees
o Well developed networks of high schools and universities as a basis for
tourism education and training
o National Centre for Tourism Education established and overseeing hospitality
industry training
o Tourism courses offered at many tertiary education institutions
o Nucleus of skilled and experienced destination management organisations
Legal Framework and Organisation

o Tourism product and supplier licensing system operational
o Extensive legal framework controlling National Parks, Protected Areas, the
environment and the cultural heritage
o Government recognition of tourism through the National Development Plan
and National Tourism Authority
o Liberal visa regime
Marketing and Promotion

o Active tour operator sector
o National Institute for Tourism Research and Statistics (INCDT)
o Network of NTA promotional offices abroad
o Extensive promotional programme of activity abroad advertising, fairs,
media and operator visits
o Existing brands Dracula and Transylvania
Other
o Increasing interest in tourism development among foreign investors
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2. Weaknesses of Romania as a tourist destination

Geographic and Environmental
o Industrial pollution
o Unsightly and polluted industrial ruins
o Major litter problem; insufficient waste collection and disposal facilities
o Pollution of the Danube, Black Sea and rivers
o Beach erosion and pollution
o Low altitude of many ski resorts limits the length of the season
o Poor implementation of environmental law
o Excessive density of tourism developments in some areas
o Unsustainable use of forest areas
o Unsustainable exploitation of natural resources even in protected area
Culture and Heritage

o Decay of many historic buildings and monuments
o Conservation and architectural preservation legislation not implemented
o Presentation and interpretation of museum exhibits generally poor
o Lack of public investment in the development and promotion of cultural
attractions museums, monuments, etc.
o No database of festivals and cultural events available to permit effective
promotion to visitors
o Lack of support for local traditions and folklore
Infrastructure, Transport and Communications

o Poor ground facilities at regional airports and railway stations
o Some airport runways are too short to attract additional and international
services extensions required to encourage regional gateways and spread of
tourism
o Low quality of many trains and local buses
o Poor road quality
o Lack of motorways and incomplete trans-European roads
o Lack of ring roads around heritage towns
o Few river transport services
o Lack of signage to tourism sites and facilities - international brown tourism
signs
o Insufficient electrification of rail network
o Limited provision of access for the disabled at many hotels and attractions
o Lack of sewerage and water supply especially in rural areas
o Low use of renewable energy sources
o Low standard of much accommodation
o Camping facilities often poor
o Old equipment in many spas
o Lack of parking and toilets at many tourist attractions
o Inconvenient domestic air links and schedules
o Uncoordinated ground transport between towns and airports
o No purpose-built international conference centre
Human Resources
o Low awareness of tourism's economic importance
134
o No Hotel School
o Low rates of pay and poor working conditions stimulating exodus of
hospitality industry workers
o Vocational training in hospitality sector does not correspond well with
employers' needs
o Lack of vocational training courses in the regions
o Emigration of hospitality workers
o Little education in schools on environmental protection and tourism
o Low awareness of career paths and potential within the tourism industry
o Limited skills in use of IT by tourism SMEs
Legal Framework and Organisation

o Implementation of tourism product and supplier registration system under
resourced
o Licensing regulations do not meet current market conditions
o Lack of regional tourism development strategies
o Lack of integrated town/resort tourism development plans
o Lack of incentives and support mechanisms for investors
o Unresolved land and property ownership issues restricting development
o Inter-governmental consultation prior to new legislation is poor
o Implementation of current legislation often inadequate
o Right of way on designated trails needs to be established
o Lack of coordination between local, regional and national public authorities
for the development of tourism
o No structure for public / private sector collaboration
Marketing and Promotion

o Lack of strong, positive image abroad for destination Romania
o Lack of formal destination marketing planning at national level
o Insufficient market research
o NTA offices abroad have limited impact due mainly to low staff levels
o Uncoordinated network of Tourist Information Centres in Romania providing
varied service levels
o Insufficient use of IT and the Internet for information, marketing and
reservations
o Limited private/public sector collaboration in marketing
Other
o Short seasons for coastal and winter sports resorts
135
D. Economic Impact of Tourism

1. Introduction
The economic impact of tourism may be measured in a number of ways utilising a range
of key indicators, which demonstrate the contribution of the sector to the wider economy.
Included among these indicators are foreign exchange earnings and their contribution to
the travel account on the Balance of Payments, tourism expenditure and income,
tourism sector contribution to GDP (both in terms of the foreign exchange earned and
the wider tourism sector earnings), contribution to Government earnings (principally
taxation), the multiplier effect and employment creation.
A comprehensive identification of such impacts is a complex undertaking and is wholly

dependent upon the availability of commensurately comprehensive, reliable and
accurate data. Unfortunately the tourism statistics database in Romania is inadequate
for economic analysis on other than an indicative basis.
The principal deficiency is the complete lack of officially collected international visitor
expenditure data and the unreliability (and unpublished) thus far of a recently
established visitor expenditure component of a wider domestic household survey. Allied
to this is the fact that the international visitor arrival statistics that are collected do not
include data upon purpose of visit and do not distinguish between same day visitors and
overnight visitors. This is a serious deficiency for a country, which is known to have
significant volumes of same day cross border traffic with Hungary and Moldova, since
this distorts the picture presented of international arrivals and makes direct comparisons
with competitor destination visitor data impossible.
The accession of Romania into the EU will also mean that the previous border crossing
controls between Bulgaria and Hungary will be removed and thus the existing system for
collecting visitor arrival data at road frontiers (almost 75% of arrivals are by road) will
have to be replaced. The design and adoption of a new data collection survey has yet to
be determined.
The absence of significant economic data considerably weakens the effectiveness of the
tourism sector to demonstrate the contribution and value of the industry to the national
economy and to Government ministers and although a system of tourism satellite
accounting, which would readily deliver such a detailed picture, is partly prepared, the
critical lack of expenditure data prevents its completion.
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) prepared a report upon the impact of
travel and tourism on jobs and the economy of Romania in 2005, but their assumptions
and methodology are unique to their approach and cannot be replicated here. The
WTTC basic approach incorporates data from the wider travel and tourism industry,
which includes data upon the volume and value of Romanian outbound travel and the
travel agency sector, whose business is overwhelmingly dominated by this market. The
analysis undertaken in this Master Plan takes a completely different approach and
concentrates on inbound and domestic internal tourism activities to the exclusion of all
outbound travel volume and value.
136
2. Foreign Exchange Earnings and Balance of Payments

This topic has already been covered earlier in the report in the section entitled Volume
and Value of Tourism to 2006 however it is important to note once again that the value
of this measure of tourisms contribution to the economy is itself subject to the
methodology used to collect the data (as demonstrated by the differences between the
2004 and 2005 figures) and this will not necessarily be the same in every country, so
caution is needed when making international comparisons with this indicator.
Full monetary and economic union of Romania within the EU will not be achieved until
Romania finally adopts the Euro as its own currency and this is not anticipated until
around 2014. Once this has taken place the significance of foreign exchange earnings
and their contribution to the Balance of Payments becomes much more limited since
over 50% of arrivals and an even greater percentage of the earnings contributed from all
arrivals will be generated from EU members using the Euro, which by then will be the
national currency.
The diminishing value of this measure is already recognised by the National Bank of
Romania, whose concern with respect to the contribution of this indicator is already
supporting interest in the identification of a replacement approach, which can provide a
more accurate method of establishing the economic contribution of tourism to the
economy.
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3. Tourism Expenditure and Income

3.1 Introduction
Estimates of tourism expenditure can be made by utilising official tourist arrivals data in
combination with expenditure survey findings on inbound and domestic spending
patterns in reports/surveys, which may exist on the hotel and related sectors.
Unfortunately, as noted earlier, no international visitor expenditure surveys are
conducted by the National Institute of Statistics or the National Tourism Authority and
there are also significant weaknesses in the existing data, for example, the absence of
information upon purpose of visit collected on international arrivals.
However, an even bigger problem exists with respect to the extent to which the official
accommodation registration system reflects the true picture of available supply and
demand in this sector because of the considerable numbers of unregistered guest
houses, bed and breakfast and other similar operations. The value of this unregistered
or black accommodation economy is believed to be significant but not accounted for in
official statistics and although The National Household Survey, which does include an
expenditure component covering holiday and leisure activities, could provide greater
insight into this situation, it is still at an evolutionary stage and requires further revision
and refining before its data can be considered reliable.
Three ad hoc surveys have been identified, however, which provide limited information
upon international and domestic visitor expenditure in Romania and in the absence of
major annual surveys designed specifically for this purpose, careful use of this data as a
proxy has been necessary.
The first report was a market research study conducted for NTA by the National Institute
of Research Development in Tourism in 2004, which prepared a series of market profiles
of the current domestic and international visitors to the various tourist zones in Romania
i.e. in spa resorts, in mountain areas, on the coast, in the Danube Delta and in the major
cities (including Bucharest). This study, while primarily directed at surveying the profile
and characteristics of the visitors, also asked some general questions about overall
expenditure and length of stay.
The second study, prepared by EDS Quantitative Tourism Research on behalf of USAID
in 2005 was an international visitor profile, travel behaviour and visitor attitudinal survey
conducted at Bucharest International Airport (Otopeni), which also asked some general
questions about overall expenditure and length of stay.
The third study was a larger follow up survey conducted by EDS for USAID in 2006,
which extended the same interview programme to several regional locations, in addition
to Bucharest, but excluded questions on expenditure.
Neither study with expenditure questions breaks down the daily visitor spend by
category (accommodation, meals, transport etc.) nor do they present their daily spend by
market type (holiday, business, visiting friends and relatives etc.) in the same way, thus
leading to difficulties in interpreting and using the data. However, the USAID study only
deals with international visitors but does break down the markets in terms of holiday,
business and visiting friends and relatives (VFR) while the NTA study provides the only
138
guide to the expenditure of Romanian nationals in Romania even though in market terms
it focuses only on holidaymakers visiting the various tourist zones.
The only rational use of the data is thus to use the USAID figures as a basis for
international visitor expenditure and the NTA study for domestic visitor expenditure and
to utilise these average daily spend figures in conjunction with such overnight stay
market data as may be available from The Romanian National Institute of Statistics.
3.2 Visitor Expenditure Assumptions
3.2.1 Existing Levels of Expenditure
In the absence of detailed arrivals data by purpose of visit and thus accommodation
demand by purpose of visit, the overall market targets put forward by the Master Plan for
future international and domestic arrivals and overnight stays in registered
accommodation are presented as total figures. They are not broken down by market
segment i.e. by holiday, business or visiting friends or relations. However, since the
Surveys referred to above do give some indicative data upon international visitor spend
for the business, holiday and VFR categories they have been adopted here after careful
adjustment. Unfortunately the data for domestic overnights does not allow similar
disaggregating and the daily visitor expenditure for Romanians staying overnight in
Romania can only be presented as a single figure.
Table 3.1 below shows the assumed existing levels of average daily spends for
international and domestic overnight visitors staying in registered accommodation in
Euros, at 2005 values. These average daily expenditure figures are considered to be
total expenditure figures, that is, they include expenditure upon accommodation, meals,
transport within Romania, entertainment and other discretionary spending such as
shopping/ souvenir purchases etc.
Table 3.1: Average Daily Spends for International and Domestic Overnight Visitors Staying
in Registered Accommodation in Euros at 2005 Values
Visitor Type Average Daily Spend

Euros
International - Business 350
International Holiday 230
International - VFR 85
Domestic Visitors 55
Source: USAID Reports, National Household Survey and Consultants Estimates
The National Household Survey does, however, demonstrate that the number of
overnight stays by Romanians in Romania is far greater than the numbers recorded in
registered accommodation and presented by the Romanian National Institute for
Statistics in their official yearbook. The difference between these figures is accounted
for by Romanians staying in unregistered guest houses and similar accommodation, but
also by a considerable number of Romanians staying overnight at the homes of friends
and relations or in their own holiday homes, categories which are also beyond the
registration system. Table 3.2 below thus shows the indicative assumptions made for
139
the total spend (accommodation, meals, transport, entertainment etc) per person per day
for these market sectors.
Table 3.2: Average Daily Spend for Romanian Visitors Staying Overnight in Unregistered
and VFR Accommodation in Euros at 2005 Values
Romanian Visitor Type Average Daily Spend

Euros
Unregistered Accommodation 40
VFR Accommodation 25
Source: Consultants Estimates
3.2.2 Future Levels of Expenditure
Presentation of the economic impact figures is made at 2005 values (the base year for
our visitor arrival and overnight stay targets), which therefore ignores the effect of
inflation upon our figures for the plan horizon of 2005 to 2026. Removing inflation
enables a truer picture of tourism earnings growth to be observed and, although this is
principally demonstrated by the growing number of overseas arrivals and the increased
international and domestic visitor overnight stays, there is also a need to consider the
anticipated increase in real discretionary visitor spend per day, which will improve as the
development of Romania as a destination itself evolves.
The Master Plan presents detailed targets for visitor arrivals and overnight stays in
Section E and they have been used as the basis for the overall tourism sector
expenditure and income analysis shown here. These targets indicate that over the time
horizon of the plan the international market is expected to show a small shift in
preference for higher quality levels of accommodation and this factor has been taken
into account in the figures shown for real growth in average daily spend seen in Table
3.3 below.
The improvement in daily visitor spend will only take place once improvements to the
tourism product, the tourism infrastructure and superstructure are in place. This cannot
happen immediately and will not be visible in Table 3.3 until 2011. However; it is simply
not possible to identify the detailed character of the investments which will need to take
place in Romania over the next twenty years, to encourage the visitor to spend more on
his visit. In general terms, though, they will be associated with improvements to the
road, rail and air networks, which will enable visitors to move around the country more
easily, rapidly and safely, allowing the opening up of more tour programmes and
excursion opportunities and thereby encouraging visitors to extend the length of their
stay.
Improvements to visitor spend will also follow from investment in a wider range of quality
accommodation, visitor attractions, entertainment, sports and leisure activities, which will
give visitors more choice and opportunities to spend. These can be as simple as
introducing catering and gift shop facilities at existing monuments, museums and
attractions, improving the design, range, quality and availability of souvenirs for
purchase, through to the major investment in new integrated resorts, marinas, family
entertainment attractions, sporting and adventure facilities and market focussed
spa/health/wellness amenities.
140
It is not possible to be prescriptive about the additional discretionary expenditure, which

can be generated and thus indicative growth per market sector is shown in Table 3.3
simply as an uplift of an assumed number of Euros per day per period (2011, 2016 etc.)
which builds cumulatively. The uplift figures are considered to be conservative and will
be lower or higher depending upon the influence and pace of development within the
tourism sector and the strength of the wider Romanian economy.
Table 3.3 below shows the assumed levels of real growth in daily visitor spend for the
periods 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026.
Table 3.3: Assumed Real Growth in Daily Visitor Spend 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026
In Euros at 2005 Values
Visitor Type Growth in Daily Visitor Spend per Period

Euros
International Business 20
International Holiday 15
International VFR 10
Domestic in Registered Accommodation 5
Domestic in Unregistered Accommodation 4
Domestic in VHR Accommodation 3
3.3 Estimated Visitor Expenditure Figures for 2005 to 2026
This section shows the consolidated position for visitor expenditure based upon the
approach and assumptions outlined above and utilising the 2005 base year data for
arrivals and overnight stays presented by the National Institute of Statistics and The
National Household Survey, in conjunction with targets and estimates prepared by
members of the Master Plan international consulting team.
Table 3.4 below presents the estimates of international visitor expenditure in registered
accommodation for the years 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026.
Table 3.4: Estimated Expenditure of International Visitors Using Registered

Accommodation for 2005, 2011, 2021 and 2026 in Million Euros at 2005 Values
Year Visitor Overnights Average Daily Total Visitor

(millions) Spend Expenditure
(Euros) (Euros million)
2005 3.46 253 877
2011 6.37 271 1,726
2016 10.22 288 2,947
2021 16.01 300 4,798
2026 23.78 325 7,740
Source: National Institute of Statistics, USAID Report and Consultants Estimates
Note: The growth assumptions for average daily spend shown in Table 3.3 and used here have been
progressively reduced to Euros 5/day from 2021 to 2026 for the Business and Holiday markets.
141
The Average Daily Spend figures shown for each year in Table 3.4 above are derived
by dividing the Total Visitor Expenditure figure by the Visitor Overnights figure, while
the Total Visitor Expenditure figures themselves are derived from the application of the
average international visitor spends in Tables 3.1 and 3.3 to the consultants estimates
of visitor arrivals by market sector.
Table 3.5 below presents the estimates of domestic visitor expenditure in registered
accommodation for the years 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026.
Table 3.5: Estimated Domestic Visitor Expenditure Staying in Registered Accommodation

for 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026 in Million Euros at 2005 Values
Year Visitor Overnights Average Daily Total Visitor

(millions) Spend Expenditure
(Euros) (Euros million)
2005 14.91 55 820
2011 21.11 60 1,267
2016 27.69 65 1,800
2021 37.25 70 2,608
2026 48.76 75 3,657
Source: National Institute of Statistics, USAID Reports and Consultants Estimates
Table 3.6 below presents the estimates of domestic visitor expenditure in both
unregistered and VFR accommodation for the years 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026.
Table 3.6: Estimated Domestic Visitor Expenditure Staying in Unregistered/VFR

Accommodation for 2005, 2011, 2016 and 2026 in Million Euros at 2005 Values
Year Unregistered Average VFR Average Total Visitor

Overnights Daily Spend Overnights Daily Expenditure
(millions) (Euros) (millions) Spend (Euros mill)
(Euros)
2005 16.27 40 16.27 25 1,058
2011 21.77 44 21.77 28 1,568
2016 28.59 48 28.59 31 2,258
2021 38.44 52 38.44 34 3,306
2026 50.24 56 50.24 37 4,672
Source: National Household Survey, National Institute of Statistics and Consultants Estimates
Table 3.7 below presents the consolidated picture for visitor expenditure from
international and domestic overnight stays in both registered and unregistered
accommodation by combining the results of tables 3.4, 3.5 and 3.6 above.
Table 3.7: Consolidated Estimates of Visitor Expenditure for International and Domestic
Visitors Staying in Registered and Unregistered Accommodation for 2005, 2011, 2016,
2021 and 2026 in Million Euros at 2005 Values
Year International Domestic Domestic Total Visitor

Visitor Expenditure - Expenditure - Expenditure
Expenditure Registered Unregistered/VFR (Euros
(Euros million) Accommodation Accommodation million)
Users Users
(Euros million) (Euros million)
142
2005 877 820 1,058 2,755

2011 1,726 1,267 1,568 4,561
2016 2,947 1,800 2,258 7,005
2021 4,798 2,608 3,306 10,712
2026 7,740 3,657 4,672 16,069
Source: Tables 3.4, 3.5 and 3.6 above
3.4 Estimated Contribution of Tourism to GDP
Calculation of the estimated gross earnings of tourism from both international and
domestic overnight visitors in Section 3.3 above enables the contribution of tourism to
the Romanian economy to be presented in two distinct ways. Firstly, the foreign
exchange earnings of the international visitors can be expressed separately for their
contribution to GDP and secondly the total earnings from tourism can be expressed as a
percentage of GDP.
3.4.1 Foreign Exchange Earnings Contribution to GDP
Table 3.8 below presents the estimates of foreign exchange earnings as a percentage of
estimated total GDP for the Romanian economy for the years 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021
and 2026. Romanian GDP is shown in Euros and is based upon an exchange rate of
3.62 Lei to the Euro as provided by the National Bank of Romania for 2005 and is used
throughout the period covered by the estimates. The 2005 GDP figure is the actual
measure of this indicator in that year as presented by the National Bank of Romania,
while future growth has been assumed at 6% throughout the period based upon
estimates provided by the Ministry of Public Finance and banking sources for the
medium term. It is considered reasonable in the absence of other estimates for the
much longer term to reduce this rate to 5% from 2016. Significant and continuing
improvement in this measure of tourisms contribution to the economy may be seen from
the tripling of growth in the percentage share of GDP represented by foreign exchange
earnings between 2005 and 2026 at constant prices.
From the date of Romanias adoption of the Euro, around 2014, this measure will cease
to have its present significance since the majority of international arrivals will be drawn
from other EU member states using the Euro as their national currency.
Table 3.8: Estimated Foreign Exchange Earnings as a Percentage of Romanian GDP in

Billion Euros for the years 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026
2005 2011 2016 2021 2026

Romanian GDP
(Billion Euros) 79.3 106.1 142.0 181.3 231.3
Tourism Foreign Exchange
Earnings(Billion Euros) 0.877 1.726 2.947 4.798 7.740
Earnings as a Percentage
of GDP 1.1 1.6 2.1 2.6 3.3
Source: National Bank of Romania, Ministry of Public Finance and Table 3.4 above
143
3.4.2 Total Tourism Earnings Contribution to GDP
Table 3.9 below shows the estimates of total tourism earnings (international and
domestic earnings) as a percentage of estimated total GDP for the Romanian economy
for the years, 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026. As per table 3.8 above GDP is
expressed in Euros calculated using an exchange rate of 3.62 Lei to the Euro, while a
growth rate of 6% per annum has been adopted to estimate future levels of GDP
performance in the medium term and a lower rate of 5% adopted from 2016.
Once again significant and on-going improvement in the contribution of tourism to

national GDP is demonstrated, growing from some 3.5% in 2005 and approaching a
doubling of this position by 2026. The inclusion here of estimated expenditure from
domestic overnight stays in unregistered and VFR accommodation beyond the official
data collection system maybe considered unorthodox but it is nonetheless indicative of
the greater reach and value of tourism to the economy than current methods of
measurement can deliver. If unregistered earnings were removed, the contribution of
tourism to GDP would drop to some 2.1% in 2005 and to 4.9% in 2026, a reduction of
between 30-40%.
Table 3.9: Estimated Total Tourism Earnings as a Percentage of Romanian GDP in Billion
Euros for the years 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026
2005 2011 2016 2021 2026

Romanian GDP
(Billion Euros) 79.3 106.1 142.0 181.3 231.3
Total Tourism Earnings
(Billion Euros) 2.755 4.561 7.005 10.712 16.069
Earnings as a
Percentage of GDP 3.5 4.3 4.9 5.9 6.9
Source: National Bank of Romania, Ministry of Public Finance and Table 3.7 above
3.4.3 Net Tourism Earnings Contribution to GDP
It is important to recognise that the earnings from international tourism arrivals and from
tourism development activities, which expand the scope, reach and appeal of the sector
to international and domestic visitors, also comes at a cost which needs to be offset
against total earnings.
Principal among the so-called foreign exchange related leakages are those associated
with the importation of construction materials, fixtures, fittings and equipment for the
development of new hotels and other tourism investment, the importation of food and
beverages for the operation of hotels and other accommodation and restaurant
businesses, the payment of dividends to foreign investors in Romanian tourism
businesses, the payment of management and other professional fees and the overseas
expenditure of the National Tourism Authority.
In Romania, however, such leakages are currently very low and difficult to measure but
the one figure which is available is the overseas marketing budget for the NTA (including
the operational costs of their overseas offices). This figure is currently worth in the order
of Euros 45 million and is possibly the single largest item in the list of foreign exchange
144
leakages since the Romanian domestic economy can supply the majority of foodstuffs
for consumption in and many of the items for the construction, fitting out and operating of
hotels and other tourism related investments.
Romania produces a wide range of foodstuffs, wines, beers and spirits and although
many specialist items will necessarily be imported for the higher quality hotels and
restaurants (beef is an important yet not a specialist item which is required to be
imported) the volumes and values are not significant. Most of the major Belgian, Danish,
Dutch and German breweries now operate in Romania in either outright ownership or
joint venture with local partners and this pattern can be seen in other supply sectors to
the hotel and catering industry.
Electrical, electronic and specialist kitchen and other equipment may often still be
imported particularly for higher quality operations but much construction material and
fixtures are manufactured in Romania through wholly owned subsidiaries of under
licensing agreements with international companies. Since 2000 in particular, the growth
in foreign direct investment across the economy (except in tourism) has grown robustly
under the impetus generated by the timeframe for accession to the EU and a strong
programme of privatisation of former state owned enterprises.
From an investment standpoint too there is little in the way of foreign exchange leakage
through the repatriation of profits and dividends, since very little foreign based
investment has entered the hotel and tourism sector. The high profile international hotel
brands, visible almost uniquely in Bucharest, are financed by Romanian
investors/developers for the most part and operate under management contracts, which
means the leakage overseas of management fees and some ex-patriate salaries, but the
total sums are small even in relation to the annual overseas budget of the NTA. Even
the petrol consumed by tourist use of cars, busses and taxis is only 50% imported since
Romania produces the other 50% from the oilfields around Ploiesti.
Accession to EU membership has meant Romania joining the Single European Market,
where internal tariffs between member states are abolished in favour of a common
external tariff and customs policy toward non-EU member states. This allows suppliers
in other EU countries to access Romanian markets with better quality and sometimes
better priced goods. While this will certainly have taken place it does appear that many
international companies have chosen instead to invest directly or tie up licensing deals
to approach this market. Membership of the Single European Market blurs the boundary
between what is an import (or leakage) and what is not and this will become reinforced
by the adoption of the Euro in a few years time.
At the present time then, and at current relatively low levels of investment in tourism
projects, the issue of foreign exchange leakages is not a significant one.
145
4. Estimated Contribution of Tourism to Central and Local

Government Revenues
The major source of tourisms contribution to central and local government revenues
comes from taxation in its various guises and principal amongst them are:
VAT/Sales Tax
Personal Income Tax
Corporate Profit Tax
Airport Embarkation Tax
Aircraft Landing Charges
Entrance Fees to Museums
Municipal Taxes and
Import Duties
4.1 VAT Receipts
The single most important revenue earning tax for Government is VAT whose standard
rate in Romania is 19%. The accommodation industry, however, benefits from a major
tax concession, unique in this area of fiscal policy, since it is allowed to charge a lower
rate of VAT for accommodation sales at 9%, while charging the standard rate of 19% on
food, beverage and all other sales. This concession gives the tourism sector in Romania
the most favourable of VAT tax rates when compared with its competitor destinations.
Data has been sought from the Ministry of Public Finance and other Government
departments upon the contribution of the tourism sector to Government revenues and
the response has been limited, thus it has been necessary to prepare indicative
estimates from other sources and assumptions.
The starting point for this analysis are the estimates of visitor expenditure, which have
been made for the years 2005, 2011, 2016,2021 and 2026. But since some of this
money is spent in unregistered accommodation the tax associated with this will not be
collected and must be ignored. Thus the base for identifying the VAT component of
visitor expenditure must be a combination of the figures related to registered
accommodation, the figures for VFR expenditure (which excludes payment for
accommodation) plus the balance of expenditure, after an allowance is made for
accommodation and some meals, made by those staying in unregistered
accommodation.
Thus we assume the following approach for calculating the contribution of VAT in Table
4.1 below.
Table 4.1: Base Assumptions for Calculating VAT
VAT at 9% VAT at 19%

All Expenditure in Registered 50% of all expenditure 50% of all expenditure
Accommodation
Non-VFR Expenditure in 0% of expenditure 50% of all expenditure
Unregistered Accommodation
VFR Expenditure Outside 0% of expenditure 100% of all expenditure
146
Registered Accommodation
Table 4.2 below takes the assumptions in Table 4.1 and uses them to analyse the data
in Tables 3.4, 3.5 and 3.6 to arrive at indicative estimates of VAT contributed by tourism
for the years 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026 in millions of Euros at 2005 values.
Table 4.2: Estimated VAT Receipts for 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026 in Million Euros at
2005 Values
Year Estimated VAT Receipts

(Million Euros)
2005 323
2011 535
2016 825
2021 1,265
2026 1,900
4.2 Employee Income Tax and Related Payments
Employee income tax is paid at a flat rate of 16% for all grades of staff and this is
calculated upon the balance of salary remaining once the required 17% health and
social insurance charges paid to government have been deducted. In addition, the
employers must pay a further 29.1% to cover health, social insurance and related
charges.
Calculation of these tax and related charges, which are due to government, is again
based upon the estimated expenditure figures in Tables 3.4 and 3.5, while expenditure
in the unregistered sector is ignored. It is further assumed that staff costs represent
some 18% of this expenditure after the deduction of VAT, on the basis that this figure is
considered to be a reasonable average for the hotel sector in Romania.
Table 4.3 below presents the estimates of tax revenue generated from personal taxation
and related payments for the years 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026 in millions of
Euros at 2005 values.
Table 4.3: Estimated Income Tax and Related Payments for 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and
2026 in Million Euros at 2005 Values
Year Estimated Income Tax and

Related Payments
(Million Euros)
2005 110
2011 195
2016 308
2021 481
2026 740
147
4.3 Corporate Tax
This is a complex area to investigate without the benefit of statistical guidance from the
Ministry of Public Finance. The standard rate of corporate profit tax is a flat rate of 16%,
but in practice there are numerous deductions available for locational, environmental,
human resources, business operational and investment purposes, for example, which
make it extremely difficult to establish the amount of tax likely to be paid by businesses.
In addition, the gross expenditure being used as a basis for this overall analysis is being
spread across a wide range of tourism businesses from registered hotels and
guesthouses to small restaurants and handicraft businesses, which between them have
a wide range of business profitability and access to tax reduction mechanisms. What
has been assumed here therefore, is that a general average profitability of 15% of post
VAT turnover (i.e. the total expenditure figures less VAT on this figure represents total
turnover, which is then assumed to include a 15% profit component) is taken as the
basis for assessing profit tax of 16%.
On the basis of this approach the estimated contribution of corporate tax payments are
as shown in Table 4.4 below for the years 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026 at 2005
values.
Table 4.4: Estimated Corporate Tax Payments for 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026 in
Million Euros at 2005 Values
Year Estimated Corporate Tax Payments

(Million Euros)
2005 31
2011 55
2016 86
2021 135
2026 207
4.4 Airport Embarkation Tax and Aircraft Landing Charges
Incorporated within the passenger air ticket price are charges which relate to passenger
departure tax and passenger security charges for both international and domestic flights.
Clearly this is in effect a tax on visitors flying internally within Romania and on those
departing by air from the country. For the purposes of this analysis we only include
international passengers departing from Romania but we do include both international
and domestic passengers flying internally since travel for business and leisure purposes
is valid for our study.
In addition it is also possible to consider aircraft landing charges as a further source of

taxation which is earned by the government from the tourism sector since the
international and domestic airlines must pay the airports to bring their business and
leisure visitors into and around the country.
148
It has not been possible to collect adequate data from all the Romanian airports but
since Bucharest Otopeni handles, by far, the largest percentage of aircraft and air
passenger movements in the country it is possible to make national estimates from
analysis of overall air passenger numbers and Otopenis own data.
Embarkation tax and security tax together amounts to an average of 18 Euros per
departing passenger. Aircraft landing charges are based upon the weight of the aircraft,
although our estimates are based upon average annual income from this source,
average annual aircraft movements and air passenger numbers. Assumptions have also
been made about the growth in international arrivals by air as a percentage of total
international arrivals in order to arrive at the estimates of tax raised. Table 4.5 below
shows the estimated revenues to government from these sources for the years 2005,
2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026 in million Euros at 2005 values.
Table 4.5: Estimated Revenues from Embarkation Tax and Aircraft Landing Fees for
2005, 2011, 2021, and 2026 in Million Euros at 2005 Values
Year Embarkation/Security Taxes Aircraft Landing Fees Total Revenues

(Million Euros) (Million Euros) (Million Euros)
2005 16.54 4.60 21.14
2011 31.91 8.86 40.77
2016 45.56 12.66 58.22
2021 64.10 17.80 81.90
2026 89.19 24.77 113.96
Source: Henri Coanda Intl Airport, Romanian National Institute of Statistics and Consultants Estimates
4.5 Entrance Fees to Museums
Visitor numbers to publicly owned museums have risen from 9.59 million in 2000 to
10.49 million in 2005, demonstrating an average annual growth of around 2% per annum
and it is assumed that this level of expansion can be maintained into the future.
Entrance charges vary slightly between museums of differing scale and importance and
between adults and children but the assumption has been made that each visitor pays
an average 10 Lei (including any photographic fees) per visit and Table 4.6 shows the
estimated revenues from entrance charges for the years 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and
2026, in million Euros at 2005 values. The Lei has been converted using the rate of 3.6
Lei to the Euro.
Table 4.6: Estimated Revenues from Museum Entrance Charges for

2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026 in Million Euros at 2005 Values
Year Estimated Visitors Estimated Revenues

(Millions) (Million Euros)
2005 10.488 29.1
2011 11.580 32.2
2016 12.785 35.5
2021 14.115 39.2
2026 15.584 43.3
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4.6 Municipal Taxes and Charges
Numerous local taxes and charges are levied upon and paid by businesses and
individuals to the various local administrations. These taxes and charges cover aspects
as diverse as building, land and vehicle taxes to construction authorisation,
publicity/advertising and hotel bed night taxes.
It is likely that most tourism businesses will pay several of these taxes but since they are
individually small and difficult to obtain data upon it is assumed that they are effectively
rolled up into the assumptions made for estimating the most important of the local taxes
affecting tourism which is the bed night tax. This tax, while theoretically having a
discretionary range of between 0.5 and 5%, based upon the daily room rate (before tax)
of the first night of a visitors stay, many local authorities choose a rate towards the
higher end of that range and levy it upon every night of a visitors stay.
For the purposes of these estimates, a rate of 4% has been assumed for the first night
only of a guests stay in registered accommodation. The expenditure base for this
calculation is that of international and domestic stays in registered accommodation, 50%
of which is assumed to be accounted for by accommodation. VAT at 9% is deducted
and the balance is divided by the average visitor length of stay taken from the Targets of
Visitor Accommodation Demand table presented earlier (to establish expenditure for a
single nights stay) with the 4% tax being computed from this resulting figure.
Table 4.7 below shows the estimates of local bed tax revenues generated for the years
2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026 in million Euros at 2005 values.
Table 4.7: Estimates of Local Bed Tax Revenues for

2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026 in Million Euros at 2005 Values
Year Estimated Revenues

(Million Euros)
2005 9.7
2011 16.2
2016 24.0
2021 36.0
2026 52.0
4.7 Import Taxes
The importation of certain food and beverage items, fixtures, fittings and equipment,
construction and building materials generates tax revenues for government. However,
as explained earlier in this section, the growing diversity of the economy in the years
before accession to the EU, through inward investment and the privatisation programme,
assisted the introduction of new manufacturing businesses and the improved quality of
existing enterprises, which reduced the need to import many items.
Joining the EU replaced the existing national external customs duties with both the EU
Common External Tariff and the introduction of Romania into the EU Internal Market
150
which represents a customs free zone between member states. This has the tourism
sector impact of significantly diminishing the tax revenues from import duties since the
sources much of its import requirements from EU countries exempt from such duties.
It is therefore considered reasonable to ignore calculating potential revenues from this

source.
4.8 Consolidated Contribution of Tourism to Central and Local

Government Revenues
Table 4.8 below shows the consolidated position for the estimated contribution of
tourism to central and local government revenues for 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026
in million Euros at 2005 values. This Table demonstrates that tourisms total contribution
to government revenues is estimated to grow from around half a billion Euros in 2005 to
some 3 billion Euros in 2026, a six-fold increase.
Table 4.8 Consolidated Contribution of Tourism to Central and Local Government

Revenues for 2005, 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026 in Million Euros at 2005 Values
2005 2011 2016 2021 2026

VAT Charges 323 535 825 1,265 1,900
Personal
Income Tax 110 195 308 481 740
Corporate
Profit Tax 31 55 86 135 207
Airport
Embark/Land
Charges 21 41 58 82 114
Museum
Charges 29 32 36 39 43
Municipal
Taxes 10 16 24 36 52
Import Taxes N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
TOTAL 524 874 1,337 2,038 3,056
Source: Tables 4.1 to 4.7 and Consultants Estimates
151
5 Tourism Employment
5.1 Current Situation
The availability of statistical data upon employment in the tourism sector is limited.
According to the Romanian National Institute of Statistics, a total of 151,000 persons
were employed in the Hotel and Restaurants sector in 2005, representing some 1.6% of
the total working population.
Employment in hotels and restaurants represents the most visible type of employment in
tourism and generally speaking is the easiest to identify and collect data upon. Yet even
here there are difficulties, particularly with the inclusion of restaurants, many of whose
staff are working in snack bars, cafs and fast food outlets whose principal customers
are local residents and workers rather than domestic or international tourists.
These figures, however, correspond to the employees working in registered hotels and
restaurants and, as has been pointed out earlier, the existence of a substantial yet
unquantifiable number of unregistered hotels and other accommodation providers
suggests that the official statistics significantly under represent the actual numbers of
persons working in the sector.
Additionally, there are numerous other specialist tourism activities whose employment
numbers are difficult to identify and whose figures are likely to be incorporated in other
categories of economic activity in the official statistics. These include tourism
transportation providers, visitor attraction staff, sports and leisure attraction staff,
specialist tour companies and tour guides, for example. Official Tour Guides are
required to be registered by the National Tourism Authority and to achieve this status
they must qualify by meeting a range of standards in foreign language fluency, subject
knowledge, familiarity with national history, geography and tourist requirements.
However, they register for three years at a time and the available annual registration
figures deal only with those registering for the first time and those re-registering so the
wider picture of the total number of available registered guides is unclear. It is believed,
however, that some 4,000 registered guides are available.
To establish greater clarity between the hotel and restaurant components of the
employment figures provided by the National Institute of Statistics, the Master Plan
human resources specialist has made an analysis of the registered accommodation
supply and estimated the numbers currently employed in hotels, guesthouses and other
accommodation. Table 5.1 below presents a summary estimate of these employment
figures based upon the 2005 accommodation supply data provided by the National
Institute of Statistics.
Table 5.1: Estimated Registered Accommodation Capacity and Employment in Romania

2005
Type Number of Number of Assumed Staff Number of

Establishments Rooms to Rooms Ratio Staff
Hotels/Motels 1,060 74,050 0.9 66,645
Guesthouses 2,916 15,065 1.0 15,065
Self Catering
villas, bungalows 894 9,600 0.6 5,760
152
Others 205 4,205 0.8 3,364

Total 5,075 102,920 0.9 90,834
5.2 Future Employment Requirements
The Master Plan has prepared targets for visitor accommodation demand and translated
this into incremental room requirements for the years 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026. The
additional accommodation sector staff requirements associated with this increase in
rooms supply is arrived at by applying the average staff to rooms ratio shown in Table
5.1 above.
Table 5.2 below shows the incremental rooms requirements for 2011, 2016, 2021, and
2026 by high, medium and low quality following the visitor accommodation demand
targets presented in Section E.
Table 5.2: Estimated Additional Room Requirements by Quality for 2011, 2016, 2021, and
2026
Quality 2011 2016 2021 2026

High (4 & 5 star) 2,500 4,900 7,400 9,900
Medium (2 & 3 star) - - 13,100 34,400
Low (1 star & unclassified) - - - -
TOTAL 2,500 4,900 20,500 44,300
Table 5.3 below shows the estimated percentage growth in rooms required in the
periods 2005 to 2011, 2011 to 2016 etc. assuming the rooms required in Table 5.2 are
built. Since no low quality rooms are required to be built the percentage growth has
been estimated upon the total number of rooms for 2005 in Table 5.1, less the figure for
Other rooms, for the 2005-2011 period, to which is then added the required number of
rooms built per period, cumulatively, for the following periods.
Table 5.3: Estimated Percentage Growth in Rooms Required in the Periods

2005 to 2011, 2011 to 2016, 2016 to 2021 and 2021 to 2026
2005-2011 2011-2016 2016-2021 2021-2026

Percentage
Growth % 2.5 5.0 17 27
The steady growth in rooms required to 2016 accelerates from 2016 to 2026 on the
basis of both overall higher levels of international and domestic visitor arrivals, but also
on account of extensions in the average length of stay.
Table 5.4 below presents the conversion of the rooms requirements in Table 5.2 to staff
requirements using the staff to rooms ratio shown in Table 5.1 above. The figures
represent the additional employees required in each period following the estimated
expansion in accommodation rooms shown in 5.2 above.
153
Table 5.4: Estimated Additional Staff Requirements by Accommodation Quality for

2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026
Quality 2011 2016 2021 2026

High (4 & 5 star) 2,500 4,900 7,400 9,900
Medium (2 & 3 star) - - 11,790 30,960
Low (1 star & unclassified) - - - -
TOTAL 2,500 4,900 19,190 40,860
154

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Romania National Tourism

Development Master Plan 2007-2026

Romania National Tourism Master Plan 2007 - 2026

In this scenario the Government of Romania identified a Tourism Development Master

increase foreign exchange earnings;

II Master Plan Development

Action Plan and Implementation

1 Volume and Value of Tourism to 2006

1.1 International Tourism to Romania

1.1.1 Volume and Value of Arrivals

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

1.1.2 Arrivals by Nationality

Table 1.2: International Arrivals by Top Ten Generating Markets in 2006

Country of Origin Number of Arrivals (000s)

Accession to EU membership involves the elimination of border controls between most

1.1.3 Arrivals by Means of Transport Used

Table 1.3: International Arrivals by Means of Transport 2000 to 2006 (000s)

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

More significant, however, is the continuing strength of international arrivals by air in

1.2 Domestic Tourism in Romania

1.2.1 Volume and Value of Arrivals

TOURIST ZONE 2005 2006

1.3 Romania Compared to Other Destinations

Table 1.6: Selected Comparative Destination Performance in 2004 and 2005

International Tourist Arrivals International Tourist Receipts

It is clear from this limited comparison that Romanias performance as measured by

Table 1.7: Selected Comparative International Tourism Expenditure as a % of National

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

A further independent international comparator of national performance in tourism

Table 1.8: Overall Competitiveness Ranking for Selected Countries

Selected Country Ranking

Source: World Economic Forum 2007

Selected Country Regulatory Business Human, Cultural

This selected comparison demonstrates Romanias comparatively poor competitive

1.4 Estimated Value of International and Domestic Tourism in 2005

own second home accommodation. Romanian nationals overnight stays outside of

Table 1.11: Estimated Value of International and Domestic Tourism Expenditure

Expenditure by Market Type 2005 (Euros million)

Table 1.12: Estimated Contribution of International and Domestic Tourism Expenditure to

International Domestic Total

1.5 Estimated Accommodation Capacity and Employment in 2005

Table 1.13: Estimated Registered Accommodation Capacity and Employment in Romania

Accommodation Number of Number of Assumed Staff Number of

2 Tourist Attractions and Utilisation

2.1.1 National Parks and Nature Reserves

There are three main categories of protected areas in Romania:

Table 2.1: Protected Areas Size and Accommodation

Hectares Accommodation Accommodation

Hectares Accommodation Accommodation

Table 2.2: Protected Areas Visitor Centres and Estimated Visits

Estimate of Visitor Information

Estimate of Visitor Information

Table 2.3: Current and Proposed Activities and Attractions Offered

Semenic - Caraului Gorges P P X X P X P P X P P P

Table 2.4: Caves Adapted for General Tourist Visits

County Cave Location Lighting

Arge Petera Dambovicioara Dmbovicioara

Figure 2.1: Location of Main 'Show Caves' in Romania

2.2 Cultural Heritage

2.2.1 Historic Monuments

Danube Delta (designated in 1991)

Figure 2.2: UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Commemorative plaques are a feature of many noteworthy buildings.