Tourism’s contribution to Romania’s economy is among the lowest in the world

Romania’s tourism sector only brings 1.3% of the country’s GDP placing the country on the 177th place among 184 countries in the world for the tourism’s direct contribution to the economy.

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Romania is also by far last in Europe on this indicator and the situation is unlikely to improve in the next ten years, as the tourism sector is expected to grow at a slower pace compared to the local economy, according to a recent report by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

Romania’s tourism sector had a direct contribution of EUR 2.09 billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015, slightly higher than in 2014, placing Romania on the 72nd place in the world, ahead of Slovakia and Bulgaria, but behind Croatia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. The travel & tourism’s direct contribution to the GDP is expected to rise by 2.9% this year, in nominal terms, to some EUR 2.16 billion.

By 2026, this indicator should get close to EUR 3 billion, WTTC estimates. However, the tourism sector only represented 1.3% of the whole economy in 2015 and the share is likely to remain similar, or even slightly decrease in 2016 and in 10 next ten years, according to the same report. By comparison, the travel & tourism sector has a direct contribution of 3% to the world’s GDP, and 3.5% to Europe’s GDP.

Moreover, tourism brings 3.3% of Bulgaria’s GDP, 6% of Albania’s GDP, and 10.1% of Croatia’s GDP. In most countries, tourism’s contribution to the economy is expected to rise in the next ten years. The total tourism sector’s total contribution to Romania’s economy, which also takes into account the investments and spending determined by this sector, was some EUR 8.3 billion in 2015, up by 3.4% compared to 2014. It represented 5.1% of the GDP, which is also one of the lowest rates in the world (Romania ranks 161st out of 184 countries on this indicator).

This rate is likely to remain similar, despite an annualized growth of 3.4% expected in the next ten years. Worldwide, tourism had a total contribution of 9.8% to the global economy in 2015, which is expected to go up to 10.8% by 2026. Foreign tourists spend close to EUR 1.3 bln in Romania in 2015 How many tourists in Romania last year?