Number of foreign tourists in Romania, down for third month in a row

The number of foreign tourists who checked into hotels and guesthouses in Romania declined by 3% in September 2018 compared to the same month of last year, to 292,400, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INS). This was the third month in which the number of foreign tourists went down, after a 1.2% decline in July and a 2.8% drop in August. The lower number of foreign tourists also reflected in the number of overnight stays, which went down by 2.4% in September, to 558,700. In the first nine months of this year, the number of foreign tourists registered in local hotels increased by 2.2%, to 2.21 million, but this was due to a 5.8% increase in the first six months. The third quarter, which is traditionally the height of the tourist season, brought fewer foreign tourists to Romania. The decline was compensated, however, by the higher number of local tourists. Over 1 million Romanian tourists checked into local hotels in September, 14.2% more than in September 2017, INS data shows. In the first nine months, the increase was 6.5%, to 7.79 million. This was largely due to the holiday vouchers distributed to employees in the public sector, which can only be used for holidays in the country. The total number of tourists in the first nine months thus reached over 10 million, up 5.5% year-on-year. Foreign tourists spend more money in Romania in first half editor@romania-insider.com (photo source: Pixabay.com)