Romanian seaside welcomes 1.5 mln tourists this season, less than 100,000 foreigners

The Romanian seaside was temporary home to 1.5 million tourists this summer season, 5% of whom were foreigners, according to data from the Association of National Tourism Agencies (ANAT). Seaside accommodation units had an average occupation rate of 55% this season, which results in a number of 1.2 million adult tourists, plus 0.3 million children who shared the rooms with their parents. Statistics however differ in Romania: the Statistics Institute counted 900,000 tourists to the Romanian seaside, whereas the association’s number is higher. “There is a problem in data collection, and the number put forward by the ANAT is of 1.5 million tourists,” said Lucia Morariu, president of ANAT. Tourists stayed on average 4.5 days at the Romanian seaside this season. For 2015, the target markets for promoting holidays at Romania’s seaside will be Poland, Israel, the Republic of Moldova and Western Europe, as well as Turkey. “Romania’s seaside is a touristic product which can compete with Greece and Turkey,” said Corina Marin, vice-president of ANAT. In Romania, all-inclusive services are increasingly sought after, but still far from potential and from the popularity on other markets, as few local accommodation units can afford to sustain all-inclusive offers, because of taxes. Taxes to local and central budget make about 35% of hoteliers’ total revenues. editor@romania-insider.com