More tourists stay at Romania's hotels in first five months, only a quarter are foreigners

Arrivals in tourist accommodation units in Romania amounted to 2.7 million in the first five months of the year, up 6.2 percent year-on-year, according to data from the National Statistics Institute INS. The arrivals of Romanian tourists were 76.5 percent of the total, while foreign tourists’ arrivals represented 23.5 percent, figures close to those registered in the same period of 2013. Most of the foreign tourists were from Europe - 78.4 percent of the total, according to INS data. The arrivals at hotels represented 75.5 percent of the total arrivals in tourist accommodation units between January and May 2014, up 6.9 percent year-on-year. The overnight stays amounted to 5.5 million in the first five months, up 9.9 percent compared to the same period the year before. The average time of a stay was 2.1 days for Romanian tourists and 2 days for the foreigners. The arrivals of foreign tourists to Romania, registered at the customs, amounted to 2.7 million in January-May, similar to the same period in 2013. Most of the foreign visitors came from European countries, namely 92.7 percent. In May, tourist arrivals in accommodation units in Romania amounted to 723,900, up 9.8 percent year-on-year. The overnight stays also registered a growth of 12.6 percent, according to INS. The arrivals of foreign tourists to Romania, registered at the customs, amounted to 663,200 in May, slightly up from May 2013. The entire INS data here. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com