Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0301/03011.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 9KB | 154 lines

$Unique_ID{COW03011}
$Pretitle{360}
$Title{Romania
Touristic Romania}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Gh. Calin}
$Affiliation{News Agency Rompres}
$Subject{tourism
touristic
romania
facilities
resorts
romanian
category
etc
tourists
foreign}
$Date{1990}
$Log{Lying on the Beach*0301101.scf
}
Country:     Romania
Book:        Romania December 1989-December 1990
Author:      Gh. Calin
Affiliation: News Agency Rompres
Date:        1990

Touristic Romania

[See Lying on the Beach: Courtesy Embassy of Romania, New York.]

     All those who visited Romania have realized that this country has an
enormous touristic potential. The qualities of the natural environment in
general, the value of the touristic sites, the effort to improve the
technical-material base (dating back to the late 19th century) have determined
a growing touristic demand which in the last few years has reached a volume of
about 12 million Romanian tourists and 5-to-16 million foreign tourists.

     Romania's major touristic zones or regions, with the favourite
destinations, are: the mountainous region, the Black Sea coast, northern
Moldavia, the Danube Delta, Transylvania, the Maramures, northern Oltenia and
the capital-city.

     Tourism in the mountains relies on the largest, most complex and varied
touristic potential, having the makings of a representative form.

     Standing out by their particular touristic value are the following
massifs: Rodna, Obcinele Bucovinei, Rarau, Calimani, Ceahlau, Ciucas, Piatra
Mare and Postavarul (Eastern Carpathians) Bucegi, Fagaras, Paring, Lotru,
Cibin, Sebes, Retezat, Tarcu (Southern Carpathians) Semenic and Bihor (Western
Carpathians). Currently montane tourism holds a small share in the system of
Romanian tourism (under 10 per cent, in terms of the accommodation capacity),
most resorts being small. Practically, this category of tourism encompasses
only the resorts of Sinaia, Poiana Brasov and Predeal, the others holding a
very small share in point of endowment and achievements. Tourism in the
mountains of Romania has very bright prospects, holding the advantage of
all-season activity. The major lines of action centre on measures to enhance
the comfort and the quality of services, to provide facilities for winter
sports and achieve a really competitive range of amusement facilities in
resorts like Poiana Brasov, Sinaia and Predeal as well as to create similar
facilities in and nearby the resorts of Borsa, Durau, Cheia, Paltinis,
Busteni, Semenic, Stina de Vale, etc.

     Seashore tourism ranks first in point of endowment and number of
registered tourists, clearly outstripping the other categories due to the
sheer value of the specific natural resources, as also to the three-decade
development. Thus, there emerged resorts of international fame like Mamaia,
Eforie, Mangalia, and then Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, Cap Aurora, Neptun and
Olimp. The coastal resorts account for nearly 50 per cent of the country's
tourist accommodations capacity. For this category of tourism, future action
is aimed at consolidating and expanding the offer. The heliomarine cure is
favoured by the wide fine-sand beaches extending between the northern point of
Cape Midia and the resort of 2 Mai in the south, on a distance of about 70 km,
by the seawater, with a mineralization of 15.0-17 0/00, by the daily sunshine
duration and the metronomic sea breeze. There is then Lake Techirghiol mud,
both the mineralization and the mud being of undeniable therapeutic value
again for treatment, there are the peat mud (at Mangalia) and the sulphurous
mesothermal waters already utilized in specialized units (at Mangalia).

     As far as investments and organizational matters are concerned, action
will be aimed at increasing the quality of offers and of actual products to
match the highest international standards putting in place recreational
facilities meeting all requirements expanding the cure potential adequate
measures to ensure utilization of all resorts all round the year, based on
indoor recreational facilities and programmes.

     Balneal tourism represents, in the case of Romania, a traditional,
landmark offer. Development and expansion of the touristic function is
undoubtedly tied to this tourism category, mainly because: Romania has a whole
range of natural cure factors (mineral waters, muds and gases, various
climatic and topoclimatic types) adding to which are, of late, the treatments
with world-famous Romanian products (Aslavital, Gerovital, Ulcosilvanil,
Pell-Amar, Elcohep etc.). It is estimated that a very high percentage of
Europe's hydromineral resources with a great therapeutic value are
concentrated in this country. Prevalence figures for the highest-morbidity
diseases in Europe find a therapeutical and prophylactic correspondent in
Romania. The results obtained in point of therapy justify the volume and the
growth tendency of the actual demand. This being so, long-term efforts will
run in two major directions: consolidation of traditional offers (Vatra
Dornei, Slanic Moldova, Tu/snad, Olane/sti, Calimane/sti-Caciulata,
Govora,
Herculane, Felix, Sovata, Covasna) and revitalization and enhancement of other
offers (Buzi/as, Techirghiol, Eforie Nord, Moneasa, Geoagiu, Bazna, Sinaia,
Tirgu Ocna, Slanic Prahova, etc.).

     Roving tourism is the most heterogenous, complex and dynamic category
its range extending over the whole country, this category accounts, annually,
for the largest contingent of tourists. Roving tourism keeps growing in a
direct relationship with the growth of spare time (weekends, short holidays
obtained through fragmentation of the leave of absence, etc.), of travelling
facilities and of incomes. Weekend favourites are the periurban zones and
places not farther than 150-200 km. On demand for longer outings or short
holidays are both the round trips and destinations at a distance exceeding
200 km, much sought being the Danube Delta, Bukovina, the Maramures, northern
Oltenia, Transylvania and all the big cities. This category holds a special
place in the future development strategy of Romanian tourism, adequate
facilities being planned for all zones, centres and roads used by driving
tourists.

     The top priority in developing Romanian tourism is related to gradual
transition to the market economy both by encouraging and backing foreign and
domestic investments and by gradually and correctly enforcing the law of
autonomous administrations and trading companies. So far the number of
Romanian private businesses is of the order of hundreds, chiefly in the areas
of eateries, holidays, trips and various touristic services, consultancy,
management, etc. Pursuing to develop and modernize the material base, the
Department of Tourism has concluded many protocols or cooperation agreements
on setting up joint trading companies with well-known firms from France,
Switzerland, Germany, the US, Spain, a.s.o. Several hotels under construction
in different cities, taken over by the Department of Tourism, are to be leased
by auction to foreign partners.

     Similarly, attention is given to improving the organizational framework
both by ensuring that Department structures are functional, and through
autonomization, decentralization and gradual privatization of tourism
companies, through improvement of their performance in the utilization of
local resources, in the promotion and marketing of their own offer, jointly
with Romanian and foreign firms. Falling in the same line is the broad
utilization of the auctioning system-with internal and international
participation-for the modernization and development of accommodation
capacities, the diversification of forms of cooperation with foreign firms in
building and modernizing roads, cable transport installations, casinos, night
clubs, amusement parks, etc.

     The diversification and quality of touristic services is still an
unsolved problem which the Department means to approach efficiently this will
be done by sounding tourists' opinion, through the system of l