Tourism <http://www.vivid.ro/index.php/issue/83/page/State%20of%20the%20Nation/tstam p/1164288791> and Romania's wasted potential
By Vivid writer: <http://www.vivid.ro/writers.php/writer/Mark%20Percival/wrid/12/issue/83> Mark Percival Posted: 23/11/2006 Ever since the fall of the Ceausescu regime, numerous commentators as well as visitors to Romania have drawn attention to the significant tourist potential which this country ought to have. With mountains, forests, a sea coast, and historic towns, together with a climate which should attract visitors in both summer and winter, Romania ought to be as inspiring for visitors as Austria or Switzerland. Yet the numbers of foreign tourists continues to be pitifully low, once again failing this year compared with last. Romania's tourist industry performed better under Ceausescu, with charter flights to serve the mountains and Black Sea coast from Western European countries, most of which ceased in the mid 1990s. While a fall in the number of visitors immediately after 1989 was to be expected as many citizens of former Eastern Bloc countries inevitably chose to exercise their new-found freedom to travel to Western Europe, this should have been a short term development, and with an imaginative tourism strategy, Romania could have re-established its position in traditional markets as well as expanding into new ones. The resort of Baile Herculane in the Banat is a striking example of Romania's wasted tourist potential. In terms of natural beauty, the area is one of the most outstanding in Europe, with mountains, the Danube gorge, and numerous monasteries as well as other attractions to visit. Prior to the First World War Baile Herculane was one of the most fashionable resorts in the Habsburg Empire, visited frequently by royalty. It is a day's drive from Vienna, so is accessible to a wide range of visitors both from Romania and abroad. While one renovated hotel in the historic part of the resort opened last year, most of the old buildings, including the former baths are derelict. The newer part of the resort comprises communist era high rise hotels, built in the 1970s when Ceausescu encouraged tourism. Since 1989 virtually nothing has been done to these shells, which now charge Western prices for communist era conditions. The resort as a whole is disordered, with numerous hastily constructed bars and kiosks, and little evidence of a coordinated development strategy. Romania's ubiquitous wild dogs are not an uncommon sight. Quite apart from the Romanian authorities' obligations to preserve historic monuments, the neglect of Baile Herculane is a striking illustration of the extraordinary mismanagement of the country's tourism industry over the last sixteen years. While it should not be the role of the state directly to run hotels or arrange tourist programmes as it did under communism, the government ought to be promoting investment, preferably from outside the country where there is more experience of developing quality tourist facilities, based on sustainability and respect for the local environment. The government should also develop an overall tourism strategy, aiming to develop the country's full potential, setting a sensible balance to serve the needs of both low and high budget travellers. So, for example, the historic part of Baile Herculane might be developed to serve mainly the middle range market, while the more modern hotels should be renovated so that they can continue to cater for the numerous pensioners on limited incomes and students who currently stay in the resort, while at the same time ensuring respectable conditions. An effective tourism strategy would recognise that Romania has no hope of attracting foreign visitors in significant numbers if tourist facilities continue to charge at least Western European prices for services which in many cases have barely improved since communism. At present, the resorts seem to survive on Romanian tourists who prefer to stay in their own country or have become used to doing so. But this market too is diminishing as more and more Romanians are refusing to put up with such poor quality in relation to price and are heading for Greece, Turkey and other countries. The easing of departure restrictions for Romanian citizens leaving the country to visit the Schengen area has given a further incentive to holiday abroad. With EU accession, the bureaucratic impediments to foreign travel for Romanians will further diminish. As in many areas of the Romanian economy, foreign investment is critical if a revival of the country's tourism is to take place. This should lead to a radical improvement in quality, as infrastructure is upgraded to Western standards, staff are trained in basic service skills and prices are set to match comparable facilities in other countries. Experienced investors will also realise that a significant increase in the number of visitors will not happen overnight and that it will take some years before Romania's poor reputation as a tourist destination begins to change. Yet so far, many potential developers have been driven away by the standard problems which have affected investors in all sectors, such as lack of clarity or stability of legislation and a tax system which remains Byzantine in spite of the introduction of the flat tax in 2005. Corruption inevitably leads many to abandon plans for investment in Romania, because those without the right connections are so frequently at a disadvantage. The poor quality of the infrastructure is a severe impediment to investors, such as the continued lack of a proper motorway network, while lack of sustainable planning on a local level has made Romania's tourist facilities unattractive to many, as the state authorities fail to provide effective services. One tour operator which considered offering holidays on the Romanian Black Sea coast in the last couple of years is rumoured to have been deterred by the presence of wild dogs on the country's beaches. The years after 1989 ought to have seen a substantial influx of tourists keen to enjoy the country's numerous attractions. Instead, the sector fell into decline. Areas which should have seen economic regeneration have fallen victim to rising unemployment. Baile Herculane is classed as a disfavoured area, when potentially it could be one of Europe's most prosperous towns. A responsible government strategy ought to concentrate on attracting the necessary expertise to develop the tourist industry, offering investors a low tax economy with a minimum of red tape, as well as providing the infrastructure which developers would like to see. C <http://www.seahorse-design.com/> Seahorse Design 2006 ---------------------------- Vali An aristocratic title is not enough to ensure a noble behaviour. A person's greatness comes from acknowledging the mistakes and agreeing to correct them. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." (Jimi Hendrix)
