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Thursday, December 14, 2006
Eureka! We have found the cause of everything!
The Romanian Tourism Business Owners Federation (FPTR) has identified the true cause for the low numbers of foreign tourists in Romania. As the Federation President, Daniel Vasilescu, put it, “In Romania, 80% of the hotels have one or two stars, while foreign tourists are only willing to get accommodated in hotels with 3 or 4 stars, this being the reason behind Bulgaria’s head start in the field, as compared to Romania”. Quote and the original story here.

Brilliantly put, mister Vasilescu! Too bad you forgot to mention the remaining 20% of the hotels, with 3/4/5 stars are usually more expensive than those in Bulgaria, Turkey, the rest of Europe and the rest of the world if you look hard enough. Moreover, the “all inclusive” packages are a mystery for most of them. Then there are bad service and “could not care less” employees…

Oh and there’s the other cause: infrastructure! I have to agree here, up to a point. Do you really think that if the 3-4-5 stars hotels would offer attractive packages, doubled by tour operators to mix them with nice little flights would not help much? As for the 1-2 stars hotels…Don’t you think many of them are fine where they are? Why would they invest more to upgrade their ratings?

I agree though, most of the hotels will be soon closed. Yes, the EU accession will bring lots of changes. And as Romanian who own hotels have no idea how to manage them, there will be foreign investors who will come and make tons of money from it. The smart way that is!

FPTR has a shity site, by the way!

Tags: Tourism, Romania, Hotels, Travel Destinations, FPTR

posted by Alina @ 9:48 AM  
4 Comments:
  • At 12/14/2006 6:35 PM, Blogger Ayyam said…

    I don't think having more of 5 stars hotels will boost the number of tourists. Alternatively, if FPTR is right, then it is a good idea to improve the services offered by * or ** hotels. People will be happy to pay reasonably and get a good service. I think it is just the advertisement with well organized packages that lure the tourists attention more than just saying 5 stars hotels. Tourist like me would rather prefer to know more about Romania than just staying in fancy hotel over there.

     
  • At 12/15/2006 10:29 AM, Blogger Alina said…

    Ayyam, you are quite right. As for 3, 4 stars hotels, the strategy should be the same: improve services and make them known to foreign tourists.

     
  • At 12/15/2006 2:59 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I would add something here: besides improving services in the hotels, there should be an improvement of nearby facilities of the resorts. Let's take the seaside, for example: there are 4 and 5 star hotels which are brand new, everything is shiny clean inside, yet when you want to go out for dinner, you realize there is no proper place for that in the whole resort. Loud, annoying music is everywhere, crowds of noisy people are everywhere, restaurants are dirty, services are slow... and then I cannot stop myself to think of the Turkish resorts, with nice restaurants nearby the beach, playing sourdine music, with waiters trying so hard to please you... not saying that the prices for similar conditions are higher in Romania than in Turkey or Greece, or even some places in Austria.

     
  • At 12/15/2006 4:12 PM, Blogger Alina said…

    Simonne, you are quite right. But that does not depend on hotels only. That is why I never got into those details. It is a good point to analyze though.

     
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Name: Alina
Home: Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania
About Me: "This is my church. This is where I heal my hurts". It's also where I feel free and my preferred means of expression.
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