PM says Miami is cheaper than Romania’s Mamaia resort, Travel Agencies Association reacts

The National Association of Travel Agencies (ANAT) invited Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta to take his family to a holiday in Mamaia seaside resort, to test the services offered on the Romanian coast, as well as the tariffs. The invitation came after the Prime Minister’s statement made earlier this week, after he returned from holiday. “The place where I’ve spent my vacation is a little bit cheaper than Mamaia,” he said during a TV show on Monday, August 10. “We invite him to spend a week in Mamaia with his family, for free, at whatever hotel he wants, to see the Romanian seaside and the prices here. The taxes should drop if the tariffs are higher than in Miami. We want zero VAT if Mamaia is so expensive. We should obviously take some measures to reduce the taxes,” said Alin Burcea, first vice president of ANAT. The reduced VAT rate of 9% for tourism packages has led to cheaper holidays this year and thus helped the local tourism. However, according to ANAT, additional measures should be taken for the Romanian tourism to become more competitive and reach a share of 6% of the GDP, from the current 2%. Media: Romania’s PM spends his vacation cruising in the Caribbean. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com