Romania has had in the last two years the largest decrease in incoming tourism in the European Union, being almost zero at the level of 2020, the president of the National Association of Tourism Agencies (ANAT), Dumitru Luca, said on Thursday.
"In Romania there are about 2,200 certified agencies, and about 300 are members of our association, but they are also the most representative, cumulating about 85 pct of the tourism agencies market. Out of all these there are less than 20 in which the predominant activity is the incoming. The figures are exactly the opposite of all the countries around us. Once there were more, but their number has dropped dramatically due to the bureaucracy they face and amid the restriction of the last two years and the real sabotage of the economy and tourism through the hasty measures that have been taken and blocked the sector. Although the incoming figures were modest anyway, Romania had the largest decrease in incoming tourism in the European Union. At the level of 2020, the decrease was of 94 pct, that is, we had almost zero incoming tourism," said Dumitru Luca, in a press conference about the incoming market.
He argues that the most unfortunate measure taken by the authorities during the pandemic was to block the activity of the treatment bases, of the spas, that is, of the "most important resource that God has given us", and the employees were sent to furlough, Agerpres.ro informs.
Another problem raised by the ANAT chief is the obtaining of the tourist visa for Romania, which is often taken harder than the Schengen visa.
For his part, Meidan Butnaru, one of the incoming leaders for the Romanian market, who managed to bring more than 200,000 tourists to Romania in recent years, said that at the moment there is a great interest for Romania from Israeli tourists. He announced a collaboration with the HiSky air company, in order to facilitate the flow of tourists between Israel and Romania.
According to the source, this year Israeli tourists are also interested in the mountain part of Romania, especially since there have been hotels open for incoming that can receive such groups, not only from Israel.
Asked about the number of tourists from Israel that he estimates he will be able to bring to Romania this year, he replied that if the current interest is maintained, it will probably reach 4,000 to 5,000 tourists, although in the past years his contribution on the Romanian market was between 10,000 and 20,000 Israeli tourists.
In this context, Mares Caravan, the commercial director of HiSky airline, announced that from May they will have four flights per week from Tel Aviv to Bucharest.
Present at the press conference, Amir Sagron, the Deputy Ambassador of Israel, stressed that Bucharest, and Romania in general, represents one of the best destinations for Israelis, both in the pre-Covid period and in the post-Covid period.
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