New Deal Europe Weekly Update on Tourism to the Balkan Region, Week 33
News from the destinations: Romania
In the week when Romania became the first EU country to state that it would accept a vaccination certificate as a valid entry requirement, we talk to Nicu Apostol, Vice President of Romania’s incoming tourism association, to get his views on this decision. We also look at how the industry is organised in Romania, what support it is getting from the government and discuss how it plans to develop sustainably and responsibly in the post pandemic world.
NDE: Hello Nicu and thank you for taking time this week for the New Deal Europe interview. Can we start by you telling us more about you, your agency, and your role in the association ‘Incoming Romania’?
NA: Rolandia is one of the few agencies doing incoming tourism to Romania. I come from a marketing background, and from my beginnings in travel I could see the missed opportunities that Romania had when it came to promotion and advertising. Discussing this with other travel agencies, it became clear that this was not an isolated personal discontent but a collective one. I knew that only an association would have the cumulative power to introduce some changes, so in 2015, together with another ten agencies, we established ‘Incoming Romania Association’ and now we have over 30 members, all volunteers, developing tourism in Romania. I was elected Vice President from the beginning, and my role has been to facilitate the discussion with the public institutions, regarding the need to have a coherent marketing strategy and plan for the destination Romania.
‘A free pass’, at least for those that are vaccinated and followed the pandemic rules in the last year, is a sign of trust given by governments to their citizens.
NDE: Can you tell us in few sentences, how the tourism sector in Romania is organised. How do the associations operate and what are the main aims?
At this moment, Romania is sending more tourists abroad than it is receiving, and we have a deficit in tourism incomes. Even though we have made significant progress in inbound tourism in recent years incoming business cannot cover this difference. The pandemic forced us, for the first time, to bring together the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and tourism organisations, regardless of the different perspective between them, and the result was the ‘Alliance for Tourism’, at least at its basic stage. This Alliance brings together destination management organisations (DMOs), travel agencies, NGOs, Incoming Romania Association, organisations from the hotel industry and tour guides. Now we are working together to deliver a contingency plan and offer all necessary assistance to the governmental institution for a fast recovery.
NDE: In terms of Rolandia what are your main markets and main products?
From the beginning, I considered that Rolandia should adapt the products to the profile of Romania and present the destination correctly and attractively. That is why we do not bet on mass tourism and rushed programmes, visiting the same popular places and without a real chance to meet the locals. Our products are designed around experiences and interaction with the locals. To achieve this, we only operate in small groups or private tours. Most of our tourists are from the English-speaking countries, and in a small measure also from the Spanish speaking markets. Our customers come from the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States and these are well travelled and experienced tourists with high expectations. To fulfil this demand, we are carefully selecting our partners, choosing the best accommodation and working with quality tour guides. We focus on offering the best of what Romania has: people, places, experiences.
Our products are designed around experiences and interaction with the locals.
NDE: How about Romania in general, what are the main markets for the country?
Most of the foreign arrivals to Romania are from Germany, followed by Israel and United States. In total, pre-Covid Romania was receiving around 2.5 million tourists a year. Considering the size, this is not a lot — we are similar in size to the UK. Romania has extraordinary natural diversity: mountains, sea, natural parks, and the largest biodiversity area in Europe — the Danube Delta, and a very rich cultural heritage: UNESCO sites, ancient history, medieval cities, and gastronomy. Following Romania’s accession to the EU in 2007, which brought about an increased number of airline connections, the target market became the European countries. However, since Romania’s partnership with the United States is becoming stronger, not only politically but also economically, the trust of US travellers in the destination is growing. Romania is no longer perceived as a poor country, ruled by a communist dictatorship, where it was almost impossible to enter and even harder to get out.
NDE: We have all been delighted to hear the news this week, that Romania is the first country to confirm that it will accept a vaccination certificate as a valid entry requirement. This must be very uplifting news for you! Have you already seen some movement in terms of bookings and interest?
Up to now, a decision at European Union level on the vaccination passport has not been taken so I believe that Romania’s decision is a brave one and correct. In Romania, the vaccination process is going very well, and in terms of countries that have administered the second dose we are at the top of the list. We are almost 12 months away from when the first restrictions took place. It was a tough financial period for many of us, however this burden is nothing in comparison to the exhaustion of key workers and their families, and they will need time to recover. ‘A free pass’, at least for those that are vaccinated and followed the pandemic rules in the last year, is a sign of trust given by governments to their citizens. The first studies seem to confirm that the virus has stopped spreading, but even before we see the first reservations, we need to have airlines operating again. Cooperation between the countries is essential, and the decisions they make should guarantee some predictability. The role of the tourism industry is not only to employ people and to bring money into the economy, but to be a valve that will free the stress accumulated over all these months, and provide an escape from this unusual situation.
NDE: While this is an excellent incentive for you, this might not be enough to revive the travel industry in Romania. What else has the government done for the travel industry, to help it survive in the tough environment we have found ourselves in during last 12 months?
Even if tourism is not the most complicated sector in the economy — if we compare it to areas like infrastructure, medicine, or finance — it still demands a level of expertise and professionalism. Unfortunately, in Romania we lack the tourism specialists at the governmental level, and the officials are not able to ‘rebuild the puzzle’. For this reason, many necessary measures are still missing or have not been put into practice yet. For example, we are still waiting for the support fund for the businesses affected during the lockdown, and another programme which should compensate for some of the business losses of the hospitality industry. I believe that long-term recovery can only be made through smart investments, and we, in the Incoming Romania Association, are hoping that this moment will be seen as an opportunity for tourism in our country.
This past year taught us as a company, to understand the values that we want to share with our clients, and the care for nature manifested by sustainable development is the most important.
NDE: Turning for a moment to those business losses, can you tell us the impact that this last year, with the global pandemic and the collapse of international travel, has had on tourism into Romania?
From the perspective of Incoming Romania Association statistics, we registered a drop of 95% in sales. It was, and still is, a tough pressurised environment, but the passion for tourism won, and most of the businesses have survived. This past year taught us as a company, to understand the values that we want to share with our clients, and the care for nature manifested by sustainable development is the most important. The capitalist model is built around profit; but now we are learning that it also comes with a new responsibility: sustainable development and measuring the impact of our actions.
NDE: How do you think Romania should handle this ‘new responsibility’ towards sustainable tourism development? How strong is the focus on it and is there awareness across the sector of the importance of sustainable and responsible tourism development?
From our beginnings, we have focused on following responsible tourism principles. Over time climate change awareness has gained higher visibility, and we all talk more about sustainable development. Even if it is not publicised as much as it should be, Romania has already implemented many sustainable tourism solutions. They represent models inspired by our cultural heritage, organic agriculture and the relationship with nature. Ahead of this, we need a change in our behaviour patterns too such as reusing bottles, recycling organic materials, etc. While traveling has its financial cost, it’s also time to consider the price paid by nature through the carbon footprint. We need to ask ourselves, is it sustainable to have three or four city-breaks in a year, or should we replace them with fewer but longer vacations, where we can explore the destination deeper? I am sure our behaviour can be remodelled, and tourism should return to the initial purpose: cultural enrichment, knowledge spreading, and the breaking of stereotypes about what we don’t know. Consumption tourism, manifested mostly by ticking off destinations without reaching a minimum level of knowledge and awareness of the places visited, is harmful to both the local communities and to nature in the long term. I trust that through education, we can straighten up past mistakes.
Up to now, a decision at European Union level on the vaccination passport has not been taken so I believe that Romania’s decision is a brave one and correct.
NDE: What is your favourite travel programme or product you promote, which best illustrates your sustainable tourism offering?
We have mostly cultural programs, but they are transforming year by year, as we look to improve them by adding new experiences and places. My favourite ones are those exploring the rural areas, authentic Romania, places where we have a lot to learn, despite our technological progress. These areas are in the north of Romania, in Maramures and Bucovina historical regions. For example, here, we have a six-day program offering a ‘simple life’ perspective where people can learn from locals a new way of seeing life goals.
NDE: You are one of New Deal Europe’s loyal suppliers, having been at our inaugural event in 2020. What are your views on New Deal Europe and what are your aims for the 2021 event?
The Balkan area has been in a shadow and was perceived more from a geopolitical perspective than as an attractive tourist area. With the opportunity to show effectively all that the region has to offer, I believe that operators from the UK and the rest of the world will see the potential of the region, geographically in the centre of Europe yet treated as a marginal region. Even the chance of presenting our tourism offer to the international operators who still have doubts about the region is a huge step. My vision is, that in the long term, our packages will be on offer everywhere, from the United States to Australia or the United Kingdom. As we all do, I hope that in the future the event will take place with face-to-face meetings, and will help operators to discover new destinations every year.
The role of the tourism industry is not only to employ people and to bring money into the economy, but to be a valve that will free the stress accumulated over all these months, and provide an escape from this unusual situation.
NDE: What is your message to other tourism partners from Romania and in fact other Balkan destinations, who want to attend the event this year?
Tourism will most certainly face transformations in the years to come. Firstly, we will have to meet and select our future partners. What’s more, Europe is a diverse destination. With plenty of countries actively promoting their offer, the presentation of the continent as one entity is simply not realistic or accurate, especially for partners coming from overseas who perhaps do not have the full picture of Europe and its diversity. The key question is, will the traditional international tourism fairs remain organised as they were before Covid, and will they remain a sustainable solution for business growth in tourism. For many years, recruiting a new buyer was like fishing in murky waters with few evaluation tools. Now, these filters can be applied through facilitators like New Deal Europe. They bring quality worldwide buyers to suppliers from the region, offering us the chance to make valuable long lasting partnerships.
Questions by Tine Murn and Robert Dee, founders of New Deal Europe, the only travel market platform dedicated to generating business to the Greater Balkan region of Europe. Apply to New Deal Europe Marketplace and Forum 2021 at www.newdealeurope.com.
