Coverphoto source: the Ministry of Tourism Database Introduction While the Government of Romania demonstrates support to the sector development through policy adjustments, tax reductions and financial incentives, the statistics suggest that Romania’s Travel and Tourism potential yet still to be exploited. In the past three years, Romania enjoyed an increase of 44% in international arrivals and reached 2.7 million. Although the growth is impressive, the country still records one of the lowest results on the EU28 scale. According to a variety of industry experts, analyzing the country’s tourism offer, market base, and marketing programs, Romania possesses a rich mix of unique, world-class natural, cultural, medical and spa assets that are ready to be leveraged. The primary challenge is three-fold: (1) improve the visitor services linked to these assets (infrastructure, transport, accommodations, site management through innovation and digitalization), (2) better coordinate between the state and private agencies at all levels to further promote small and medium business development and to reduce the human capital deficit, and (3) engage in more effective marketing initiatives to make the world’s highest spending outbound markets more aware of the assets and the unique travel experiences which Romania can offer. On marketing and promotion side, three overarching tasks to address are 1) improve tourism- related data collection and enhancing Ministry of Tourism’s (MoT) data analysis capacities, systems and infrastructure, and fully utilizing the benefits of the Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA) to better inform the government on the required adaptations to the dynamics to the sector, 2) use the data to refocus and enhance the country’s tourism marketing efforts, and 3) enhance the tourism product offers and overall visitor experiences, to promote positive “word of mouth” and social media advertising, and generate repeated visits. The purpose of this document, prepared through a public-private dialogue and with support from the World Bank, is to: Understand where the sector is now in tourism development terms, and the challenges and opportunities Define a vision for the future development of the industry Create a roadmap for achieving the set targets - 1 - Strategy Development Process This strategy development work was initiated by the Government as a follow up on the Strategy Unit Program. The process was split into two phases to assess the sector and the plan ahead, resulting in two reports, comprising: Volume 1 – Rapid assessment of the tourism sector in Romania (this report). Volume 2 – Strategy and Action Plans. The rapid-assessment process was launched with a detailed review of the prior studies and available data, inter-governmental meetings, interviews with industry leaders, and consultations with public and private representatives. Actions to address the challenges identified through this participatory planning process and included in this document are presented in Volume 2 of this report. This volume provides rapid analysis of the current state of Romania’s tourism industry and the challenges and opportunities it faces in attempting to sustainably grow the industry over the next decade. It is organized under the following chapters: Chapter 1: Sector overview. The chapter covers an overview of the economic sector in the country, indicators and trends from the recent years, what reforms took place and how they supported the development of the industry. The section on Global Tourism Trends vs Tourism in Romania dives into International Tourism Arrivals, International Tourism Receipts and Durations of Stay, the purpose of travel, regions and places visited, seasonality, transportation and connectivity, and offers comparisons with neighboring economies of the similar scale. Chapter 2: Governance and regulations. The chapter describes the structure of tourism governance in Romania and provides an overview of other tourism organizations, including from the public, private, NGO sectors at regional and local levels. What are their roles in developing the sector, what are the coordination mechanisms; how the sector is regulated. Chapter 3: Tourism Products and Offers. Romania is blessed with a wide range of unique, world- class cultural and natural tourism resources. The challenge is to bring related visitor services, including access (e.g., access roads, public transport, directional signs), interpretation (e.g., guide services, events, interpretive signs), and accommodations, up to that same international standards. While major tourism-related infrastructure investments are now underway or being planned, there is more work to be done to improve access to some of the country’s most authentic and unique cultural and nature heritage sites, improve road safety and accompanying infrastructure, enhance conservation and valorization of cultural heritage and promote wise stewardship of environmental resources. This section offers analysis of tourism products and offerings, covering the main tourism attractions in natural, cultural, historical and religious heritage, national parks, reserves and caves, museums and galleries, and MICE. - 2 - Chapter 4: Human Capital Development. All of the challenges described in this document in one way or the other may derive from the human resource capacity, in both the public and private sector. Specific challenges include more opportunities for innovative approaches to experiential learning, improved curricula at universities (when is related to the subject of education of tourism management) and vocational training centers, and implementation of targeted training and certification programs for hospitality business services. The objective is to create a better link between industry workforce needs and the country’s education practices, including the training and certification programs. The chapter overviews the current practices and how the education system is organized to support the tourism development and meet the challenges of the sector. Chapter 5: Marketing, promotion and communicating with Tourists. The tourism industry is unlike any other business. Instead of a product, countries sell destinations, experiences or places and all the things they have to offer. This chapter covered an overview of the previous marketing initiatives and practices, looked into the social media analysis, discussed what are the opportunities to run more effective campaigns to increase the number of visitor exports and international receipts. Identified the challenges to and opportunities for enhancing marketing and promotion of Romania as a world-class tourist destination. Chapter 6: Romania as a Tourism Destination – Exposed Strengths and Weaknesses. The section summarizes the strengths and challenges drawn from the analysis presented in these reports and discussed during the consultations with the stakeholders. The strategy (Volume 2) addresses the identified challenges and opportunities and is centered around three tiers to serve as a blueprint for sustainable tourism growth in Romania to: further strengthen Romania as a premier, year-round, world-class tourism destination which meets the EU standards in product and service delivery; cherish the people, tradition, places, natural and cultural heritage of Romania; increase the visibility and reputation of Romania at the world’s premium tourism markets. The strategy and action items that have been defined to achieve the vision are presented in Volume 2: Strategy and Action Plans. - 3 - Contents Introduction ..............................................................................................................................1 Strategy Development Process ...............................................................................................2 Abbreviations and Acronyms ..................................................................................................8 Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................9 Chapter 1: Sector Overview ...................................................................................................11 Country Economic overview ...................................................................................................................11 Tourism Contribution to the National Economy ..............................................................................12 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index ............................................................................................16 Global Trends ................................................................................................................................................19 International Tourism Arrivals and Receipts ......................................................................................20 International Tourist Arrivals in Accommodation Facilities ..........................................................21 International Entries through Customs ...............................................................................................22 Sharing Economy and Romania .............................................................................................................23 Purpose of Travel .........................................................................................................................................25 Regions and Places Visited .......................................................................................................................25