Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and emphatically post-Ceau
s
escu country. For
example, one brochure (Ministry of Tourism,
undated a, p. 3) from the mid-1990s proclaimed
the 'rebirth of a nation'. It continued:
In December 1989 Romania was reborn as a
free nation. Now this multi-faceted country is
welcoming tourists to enjoy a wonderfully
varied heritage of traditional culture, scenic
splendours and leisure opportunities. A
resurgence of endeavour and enthusiasm is
re-invigorating the country's tourist facilities to
create a unique holiday destination.
The narrative of a new beginning is under-
lined by stressing that, now freed from the
enervation of socialism, the 'new' Romania is an
energetic and reinvigorated country. Another
brochure describes Romania as 'heading for a
new future' (Ministry of Tourism, undated b,
p. 2). Similarly: 'Romania is on the move. Come
and see for yourself' (Ministry of Tourism,
undated a, p. 3). Romania's new start is best
illustrated in Bucharest where 'the capital's res-
taurants are regaining their vigour' (Ministry of
Tourism, undated a, p. 9). The process of reform
in Romania has been so protracted that, well
over a decade after Ceau
s
escu's fall, a website
established by the Ministry of Tourism continues
to talk of 'a new Romania' (
www.turism.ro).
There are other attempts to present
'reborn' Romania as an explicitly European
country. For example: 'Now that Romania has
rejoined mainstream Europe, it is welcoming
visitors to share and enjoy a civilized heritage,
spiced with touches of Byzantine influence'
(Ministry of Tourism, undated c, p. 2). Present-
ing Romania in such a way is intended to
demonstrate that the country adheres to
European norms and values from which it was
only temporarily detached during the period of
state socialism. It also represents a rejection of
the emphasis on indigenous over European
values that characterized Ceau
s
escu's reign and
the early years after his overthrow.
In addition to presenting itself as a new
country, Romania has been eager to assert itself
as a state that adheres to Western political and
economic values after four decades during
which it was, in political terms, 'other' to the
West. For example: 'The revolution of 1989
brought Romania firmly back into democratic
Europe' (Ministry of Tourism, undated a, p. 7).
Similarly: 'Today Romania is a fully democratic
state with a free economy' (National Tourism
Authority, undated a, p. 3). One brochure also
emphasizes the 'new' Romania's respect for
minority rights in order to repudiate the shrill
nationalism of both the Ceau
s
escu era and the
early 1990s. For example:
According to the Romanian laws, adopted after
1989, the minorities are entitled to pursue their
interests, exercise their rights and preserve their
cultural identity.
(National Tourism Authority,
undated b, p. 2)
Highlighting historical and cultural ties
with Western Europe
Coupled with its efforts to present itself as a
'new' and
post
-socialist country which shares
the political, economic and social values of the
EU, Romania, like other countries in the region,
has also been seeking to highlight (and reaffirm)
long-standing historical and cultural ties with
Western Europe (Morgan and Pritchard, 1998).
This is another way in which Romania has
sought to demonstrate its 'European-ness' but it
is also an element of the post-socialist rewriting
of history (Verdery, 1999). In seeking to excise
the socialist era from the country's historical
narrative Romania (like other countries in the
region) has sought to turn back the clock and
resume the course of economic and political
development of the pre-socialist era (a period
when Romania was much more integrated into
the
political
and
economic
life
of
Western
Europe).
As such, Romania's tourist promotion has
stressed a long shared history with the Western
and Central parts of Europe. For example, there
are insistent references to the Roman origins of
the country. One brochure declaims: 'The very
name “Romania” reminds us that ancient Rome
exercised a decisive influence on this country'
(Ministry of Tourism, undated a, p. 3). Similarly:
'. . . the ancient Roman inheritance that gave
the country its name and its Latin characteris-
tics. Even the climate of south west Romania is
Mediterranean' (Ministry of Tourism, undated c,
p. 2). The Romanians are also presented as
being a Latin people:
This Latin ancestry is apparent in all sorts of
ways today, not least in the warm, outgoing
temperament of the people . . . it is an ancestry
