Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 20.2. Romania: arrivals of foreign visitors, 1980-2004. Sources: CNS, 1995; INS, 2003a,
2004a, 2005a.
However, international tourism declined during
the 1980s due to the austerity and repression of
Ceau s escu's regime: by 1985 the number of
foreign tourists had fallen to 4.7m (CNS, 1995).
Following Ceau s escu's overthrow in
December 1989, Romania experienced a brief
tourism boom (see Fig. 20.2). Visitor arrivals in
1990 were 35% higher than the previous year
(due largely to visits by journalists, charity
workers, 'revolution tourists', returning Romanian
émigrés and cross-border traders from neigh-
bouring countries). Thereafter the trend in
arrivals has been more erratic and after 1992
international tourism entered a long period of
decline. Over the 1990-2002 period visitor
arrivals fell by 27% and by 2002 Romania
attracted fewer foreign visitors than in 1989
(INS, 2003a). In 2001, tourism contributed just
2.5% of Romania's GDP (Andrei, 2004).
The origins of foreign visitors to Romania
have also changed significantly since 1989.
Romania rapidly lost its former Central
European market, although during the early
1990s there was a large increase in visitors from
neighbouring states, who accounted for 61% of
visitors in 1995 (CNS, 1997). Many such
visitors arrived in Romania for the purpose of
business or cross-border trading, while others
were in transit through Romania (at a time
when conflict in the former Yugoslavia had
closed the main transit routes through this
region). Others (particular from Hungary and
the Republic of Moldova) travelled to Romania
for the purpose of visiting friends and relatives.
However, Romania was unable to attract large
numbers of visitors from Western Europe and
has failed to enjoy the post-socialist tourism
boom experienced elsewhere in Central Europe
(Hall, 1995). In 1995, citizens of EU countries
and America accounted for just 13% of foreign
visitors (CNS, 1997).
Romania's poor performance as a tourist
destination after 1989 can be attributed to both
internal and external factors. Within Romania
itself tourism has enjoyed little governmental
support, since successive post-socialist adminis-
trations have, understandably, been pre-occupied
with the challenges of reforming and restructur-
ing the hyper-centralized economy created by
Ceau s escu. Yet, the process of macro-economic
restructuring has been a protracted process.
Between 1990 and 1996 the Romanian govern-
ment (dominated by former Communist Party
members) pursued a 'gradualist' course of reform,
reflecting both its suspicion of Western models
and its need to retain popular support. This
policy brought about the first 'transformation
recession' in the early 1990s whilst delaying
major economic structural reorganization (Smith,
2001). A centre-right coalition government
elected in 1996 attempted to implement a form
of 'shock therapy' that produced a second
recession but failed to bring about major eco-
nomic restructuring (Smith, 2001). As a result,
successive reports by the European Commis-
sion noted that Romania was making little
progress towards creating a functioning market
economy (Phinnemore, 2001). In 2000, the
former socialists (now renamed as Social Dem-
ocrats) returned to power and in the follow-
ing years succeeded in bringing about a degree
of economic stability.
In this context, Romania's post-socialist
administrations have not regarded tourism (and
tourism reform) as a priority. This is reflected in
the changing fortunes of the country's Ministry
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