Tourism industry: “Romania must have a summer season of at least 9 months”

The summer season must last at least 9 months in order to talk about sustainable, efficient, and coherent tourism on the Black Sea coast. This is the conclusion, unanimously adopted by all those present at the public debate in Constanta, within the national project “Romanian tourism – between impasse and opportunity”.

The proposal was initially launched for debate by Dragos Anastasiu, president of the Alliance for Tourism (APT), who believes that as long as the summer season is 2-3 months, we cannot claim that tourism on the Black Sea becomes a national priority . We have to do it in such a way as to attract tourists, Romanians but especially foreigners, seniors, at least 9 months a year. The extension of seasonal tourism to nine months of activity per year could help Romanian tourism to develop sustainably and organically “, concluded Anastasiu.

In his turn, Vergil Chitac, the mayor of Constanta, wants the share of tourism in the GDP to increase in Romania, as in other member states, from 5% to 10%. “I am a supporter of the action and I want the centre of Constanta to become a tourist area of ​​national interest.” In this context, he also spoke about the importance of Destination Management Organizations (MDGs). “In Constanta we are in the process of finalizing the status of the law establishing the MDGs, 99% is ready. Because we can only promote through MDG both Mamaia and Constanta as a tourist destination. This is a place that must become the most important tourist destination. Here we have the oldest history in our country. So, from this perspective, the MDG must work,” said the mayor of Constanta. Regarding the extension of the beaches, Vergil Chițac considers that the absence of a large number of tourists, especially in the northern part of Mamaia resort, is the result of an “undeserved media promotion”, adding that the extension of the beaches is a project for 50 years, in which millions of euros have been invested, this is the way to look. 70 hectares of beaches are added to the national territory. The rest are inconvenient to begin with. Things will settle down “, said the mayor of Constanta.

The initiator of the debate, Cristina Chiriac, the president of the National Confederation for Female Entrepreneurship (CONAF), supports the extension of the tourist season, relying even on bonuses, incentives for service operators who continue their activity. “I think we need to work in this direction, together with the central and local authorities, so as to create the right legal framework, even a bonus for those who do not interrupt their activity after the classic summer vacation. We are living a new beginning after the pandemic, which puts us on an equal footing with other neighbouring states. We must be able to act and capitalize on the window of opportunity that has emerged, “said the president of CONAF.

The President of CONAF explained that the project “Romanian Tourism: Between impasse and opportunity” is not just a project, it is a tool for relaunching Romanian tourism and its inclusion in the sustainable development strategy, as a development axis with huge potential at national level . However, in order to achieve this, public and private investments in infrastructure, digitization and modernization of the sector are needed, fiscal stimulus measures must be considered and, last but not least, the correlation of the labour market with the real needs of the sector. “I support dual education and vocational schools and I believe that they can provide the labour force that Romanian tourism needs”, concluded Cristina Chiriac, at the end of the debate in Constanta.

All the proposals and solutions offered by both the local authorities and the industry representatives had the support of the Romanian Government through the presence of the Prime Minister’s Chancellor, Sergiu Hossu, sending his message on behalf of the Prime Minister: “We contributed to HORECA’s support during the pandemic period and we introduced in PNRR funds necessary for the development of viable projects that would stimulate Romanian tourism. Starting with January 1, 2022, the holiday vouchers will be reintroduced and we assure you that the state will continue its mission to become a fair environment for all economic operators.”

The series of discussions on this project will continue on September 2 in Brasov, October 15 in Suceava, November 4 in Cluj, Bucharest. The approach comes in support of tourism operators and related services, in order to identify solutions to the problems they face and in order to position Romanian tourism on the axis of sustainable development. The National Confederation for Women Entrepreneurship emphasizes that it initiated this national project in the context in which tourism, severely hit by the coronavirus crisis, is looking for solutions to return to normalcy.