Romania's hotel industry reached a new high last year, recording the highest number of tourists in the past three decades, but challenges increased in 2025 in a more heterogeneous market, according to a 2025 report produced by real estate consultancy company Colliers.
'Although the second half of the year was marked by a more difficult economic context, interest in travelling to Romania remained high, particularly among foreign tourists, who generated almost 5 million overnight stays in local hotels,' the annual report published on Thursday by Colliers states.
In the first part of the year, hotels across almost the entire country welcomed more tourists than in 2024. In the second half, however, momentum slowed in many regions, with the exception of Bucharest, which continued to attract a large number of visitors. Mountain areas such as Brasov, Prahova and Arges had a weaker end to the year, while the seaside - especially Constanta - recorded a better summer season than in previous years. Overall, the number of overnight stays in Romania's hotels increased slightly over the year, by less than 1% compared with 2024, reaching a new post-1992 high.
Although the threshold of almost 5 million overnight stays by foreign tourists represents a record for Romania, the level remains below that of other Central and Eastern European countries, the report notes. Hungary attracts more than twice as many foreign overnight stays, while Poland records nearly three times as many, according to the same analysis.
'Romania reached a new three-decade record in terms of hotel overnight stays, even if the pace of growth was not spectacular. While domestic tourism supports the market overall - accounting for around 80% of demand - the segment that contributed most to market growth in 2025 was foreign tou rists, who came to Romania mainly for leisure travel. At the same time, if we compare ourselves with other Central and Eastern European countries, we see that we are still lagging behind in terms of overnight stays by foreign citizens, which shows there is substantial room for growth in the coming years,' explained Raluca Buciuc, Board Member Head of Valuation Services and Hospitality Advisory Services at Colliers.
In Bucharest, five-star hotels recorded an average occupancy rate of 72% in the first 11 months of 2025, around 10% higher than the previous year. Four-star hotels in central areas also had a strong year, with occupancy of nearly 80%.
According to the same source, average nightly rates reached around 140 euros for five-star hotels and approximately 110 euros for four-star hotels, levels comparable to those in other major regional capitals.
The real estate company's data show that several new hotels opened in 2025, including boutique units and hotels operated under well-known international brands. In the coming years, Bucharest is expected to have approximately 10% more hotel rooms, through projects that will add over 1,000 new rooms, some under brands entering the Romanian market for the first time. At the same time, cities such as Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Sibiu, Constanta and Craiova continue to attract investment and hotels operated by recognised chains.
An important signal for the market was the transaction through which the Hilton Garden Inn Bucharest Airport was sold to an international investor - one of the few institutional transactions in the local hotel sector and the first major transaction involving a purpose-built investment product - which could pave the way for greater interest from large investors.
In the long term, Colliers specialists estimate that Romania's tourism sector will continue to grow, particularly due to the increasing number of foreign visitors. These could offset a potential decline in domestic travel in the current economic context, especially given that developments in the second half of 2025 showed the sensitivity of the local tourism market.
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