The beginning of the 2025 tourist year is weak, and the sector risks suffering both due to the decline in the population's standard of living, and the increase in VAT to 19%, the vice president of the National Association of Travel Agencies (ANAT), Adrian Voican said on Thursday for AGERPRES,.
Asked how the tourist year seems to be, Voican replied: "Weak, how can it be? Look at the statistical data! There are decreases, except for January, when we had a very good winter season, we had skiing and the resorts and slopes were full. We already had decreases in February, there were decreases in March and we'll see in the future".
Voican also stressed that in the absence of holiday vouchers, domestic tourism will suffer.
"I saw in the government program that they want to stimulate exports and reduce imports. Well, by cutting holiday vouchers, we stimulate exports, that is, people go on holiday abroad and spend their money abroad. We say one thing and we apply another. And if the incoming bonus, which was a small initiative, a 40-euro bonus for those who stay twice more than the average, which is somewhere around two nights, but if you stay four nights you receive 40 euros - it is not given since 2023. So, if we do not have measures to attract foreign tourists and we do not have measures to stimulate keeping money in the country, we are talking words," according to him.
Adrian Voican emphasized that the sector risks suffering for two reasons, one being the worsening of the standard of living, and the other the direct measures to increase taxes in tourism, namely VAT from 9% to 19%.
"Anyway, tourism at this moment risks suffering for two reasons.The standard of living will worsen, it doesn't matter from where, so people will cut back on vacations, we don't even have holiday vouchers anymore. Secondly, if you really hit the tourism sector with these direct measures to increase taxes in tourism, we have a double blow. Purchasing power decreases and taxes increase", he pointed out.
The ANAT official appreciated that the granting of holiday vouchers was an "extremely smart measure", which tripled the number of accommodation units, because these were "in the black" or "gray".
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