Tourism: Romanian Tourism In 2023: Perspectives From Hoteliers

According to a survey conducted by the online hotel platform Travelminit.ro, 51% of hoteliers and owners of guesthouses, villas, and guest homes in Romania express satisfaction with the reservations recorded at their accommodation in 2023. 33% of respondents take a neutral stance, while the remainder feel that they could have had a better tourism year. Moreover, 50% of those surveyed believe that it was the best year for the tourism industry in Romania since the pandemic.   The survey also reveals the main rules that tourists tend to break in their chosen hotel rooms or accommodations. For example, according to hoteliers’ votes, 26.3% create noise outside of operating hours, even though most hotels and guesthouses have well-defined resting hours. 21% of respondents claim that tourists check out later than the agreed-upon time, while 20.1% mentioned smoking in the room against accommodation rules.   Additionally, some tourists arrive with more people than specified in the reservation details to avoid additional charges or fail to notify that they are accompanied by a pet. Hoteliers also face special requests, such as setting a specific temperature in rooms, organizing surprises for loved ones, arranging special meals, or providing room service.   As for items tourists tend to take from hotel rooms, towels appear to be the most commonly disappeared items. Following closely are body care products and decorative items, such as lamps and paintings, and more. On the other hand, hoteliers claim that there are hardly any sanctions, and most of the time, they directly bear the losses. 63.2% of respondents say they do not impose fees for rule violations, while the rest decide to deny access to their accommodation later for problematic tourists.   The new year promises to be a promising one for national tourism, especially as hoteliers make plans in this direction. According to the surveyed data, 32.9% of them have set the goal of increasing the number of tourists in Romania, 19.1% aim to increase investments in tourism infrastructure, and 17.8% focus on sustainable tourism development and promotion.   Other votes were evenly distributed between implementing effective crisis management measures in tourism, improving Romania’s image abroad as a tourist destination, making new investments in recreational areas, and diversifying the tourist offer.   Regarding the sentiment with which hoteliers approach the new year from a tourism perspective, 48% of them are optimistic, 27.1% are realistic, 20% express concern, and 4.9% look at the industry’s evolution with pessimism.   There is also a general plan for the development of accommodation units in the coming year: 72.9% of respondents say they aim to expand or improve the services they offer to tourists. Among the aspects they target are increasing the number of available rooms, developing the children’s play area, expanding the SPA area, implementing innovative technologies, improving restaurant services and the menu, developing the fitness area, and expanding parking facilities.   Those without such a plan in 2024 cited reasons such as insufficient funds, uncertain economic prospects, a focus on maintaining the current quality, unfavorable market conditions for expansion, and the stability of current service demand, which does not justify immediate development.