July 19, 2017 TnH Global 0

‘Romania ranked as a new up-coming excellent tourist destination’

Romania has been ranked as a new up-coming excellent tourist destination that is ready to be revealed, says Romania’s Secretary of State for Tourism, Ms. Cristina lonela Tarteata. In an exclusive interview to TnH, she says that Romania is a unique destination that offers almost all forms of tourism and that is the main stunning reason for tourists to come and discover her country.

Q. How is Romania ranked as an international tourist destination?

Romania is ranked as a new up-coming excellent tourist destination, ready to be revealed. More and more foreigners are coming to Bucharest for a city break, to Transylvania area, which is best known as the mysterious land of vampires and to Maramures for a real authentic experience of stepping back in time. Romania’s competitiveness as a tourist destination is on an ascending trend.

Q. How important is tourism sector in the Romanian Economy? What’s the contribution to the country’s GDP?

The tourism sector is very important for the Romanian economy and also a priority for the actual government. In order to boost investments in tourism area, the Ministry that I proudly represent has initiated specialised programs for developing the infrastructure, as it is a determinant factor in this field. We are aware of the potential of tourism sector for the economic growth but for the moment, we do not have the official statistics for this year that establish the contribution to the country’s GDP.

Q. What are the popular attractions to visit in your country?

On a list with the most popular attractions in Romania I would definitely include Dracula’s Bran Castle, located in Transylvania, a historical region that is involved with mistery, where beautiful landscapes and wild animals will appear with every step that you take. Another popular attraction is capital Bucharest and its unique historical buildings, starting with the world’s second biggest building in the world after Pentagon, the People’s House. Romania is also the country with the best preserved Delta in Europe, the Danube Delta, included on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

Q. What are the stunning reasons for tourists to visit Romania?

Romania is a unique destination that offers almost all forms of tourism and that is the main stunning reason for tourists to come and discover our country. All a tourist would want is here: nature, culture, history, adventure, excellent authentic food. We have fabulous mountain areas, the Carpathian mountains stretch for more that 900 km inside Romania and are home to the largests brown bear population in Europe. Romania’s Black Sea coastline is remarkably diverse, both from an environmental and a cultural point of view.

Q. What are your key tourist markets?

Our main goal is to reposition Romania as a tourism destination for the European and Nordic countries. As for new markets, we target countries with huge potential of providing tourist like India and China.

Q. How do you look at the tourism exchange between India and Romania?

India is well known in our country, Romanian tourists are mostly attracted by the temples and the religious places, the wildlife sanctuaries and also the movie industry. The tourism exchange between India and Romania can be improved by establishing business to business meetings between all parts involved in this sector, by organizing info-trips and also using online and offline powerful marketing tools.

Q. How many Indian tourists visited Romania last year? How is this number growing annually?

In 2016, the National Institute of Statistics has reported a growth over 2015, 13,866 Indian tourists had visited our country. We hope we will have a significant increase for the current year, as a result of our efforts to promote our country worldwide.

Q. Why should Indian tourists opt for Romania out of many attractive choices?

Indian tourists should opt for Romania because it is one of the most authentic countries in Europe. We have all forms of tourism, we can ensure tourism experiences 365 days a year. During my visit in New Delhi, Indians have shown interest in business tourism, wellness and spa segment, entertainment and movie industry.

Q. Tell us about your strategy and efforts to promote Romania in India.

As a Secretary of State at the Ministry of Tourism in Romania, I have visited India recently. The purpose of my visit was to promote my country as a tourist destination in this market and to identify new opportunities for institutional cooperation between the two countries in the field of tourism. I had a series of meetings with leaders of India’s largest tour operators and associations of tourism. It was my pleasure to participate at the event hosted by Aska Tourism and Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd. and we appreciate the interest shown in discovering Romania. The discussions with the tour operators and with the officials were also focused on the possibility of organizing adventure tourism info-trips and the possibility of providing an aerial connectivity between Romania and India meant to contribute to the significant increase of the tourist flow. In order to increase the number of Indian tourists, our country was also present at the tourism fair in Mumbai, in February.

Q. What are some of less-known facts about Romania that the outside world is not aware of?

Romania is one of the European countries with remarkable Balneo-Climaterical resources. A third of all mineral and thermal waters with curative proprieties of Europe is in Romania. Also, we have a rich network of balneo resorts, spread all over the country, in different climatic areas, endowed with natural curative factors of exceptional value: the lakes with therapeutic waters and the mud are among the best known and most appreciated.

I am sure not many people know that my country has one of the happiest and unusual cemeteries in the world. The Merry Cemetery, located in the village of Sapanta, in Maramures County, became famous due to its colorful crosses and the satirical poetry written on them. The northwestern Romanian region of Maramures is home to many villages where century-old traditions are still part of daily life. The inhabitants of this area have preserved, to an amazing extent, the rural culture and crafts of their Dacian ancestors. Maramures villages are distinguished by their unique wooden churches with tall spires and shingled roofs.

Last, but not the least, when it comes to music festivals and high life parties, I can assure you, Romania is a top destination in Europe!

“Indian tourists should opt for Romania because it is one of the most authentic countries in Europe. We have all forms of tourism, we can ensure tourism experiences 365 days a year.”