Bucharest Mayor Sorin Oprescu has offered the city’s key to Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization.
Culture and nature are Romania’s major strengths the government should tend to for the country to enhance its benefits in developing a sustainable tourism, Secretary General of the UN World Tourism Organisation Taleb Rifai told an international specialist conference, Agerpres reports. Administration members should rely on each other to develop consistent policies that should result in the development of tourism. Of course, we should not forget the role of public-private partnerships for tourism development either, added Taleb Rifai.
During the event, the Bucharest Mayor offered the key of the city to Taleb Rifai and thanked him for his involvement in the development of Romanian tourism. In his speech, Oprescu also stated that Bucharest’s approximately 2.3 million inhabitants make Bucharest the tenth largest city in the EU, in reality Romania’s capital having a population of over three million people every day, the mayor adding that Bucharest has “all the spices” of a great European city that is worth visiting, Mediafax informs. Oprescu added that the construction of a polyvalent hall and of a concert hall is among the city hall’s immediate projects.
In her turn, Maria Grapini, Minister for SMEs, Business Sector and Tourism, emphasized that Romania has a huge potential for tourism, evz.ro informs. “Tourism develops not only the economy, but also brings peace in the world, connects people,” Maria Grapini stated. Likewise, a film promoting Romania and an interview with Prince Charles were presented during the conference’s opening ceremony. In this sense, Environment Minister Rovana Plumb also said that she collaborates closely with Prince Charles and his team in what concerns the protection and promotion of Romania’s Carpathian Mountains region.
Among other things, Plumb also pointed out that only three hotels in Romania have ecological labels, adding that the institution she leads plans to designate ten eco-tourism destinations. “I stand by my colleague in the government, [Tourism Minister] Maria Grapini in the actions aimed at completing the strategy for tourism and in terms of promoting ecotourism destinations in Romania.”
According to the Environment Ministry, ecological labels were handed out to the Saturn hotel in Saturn resort and Crowne Plaza hotel in Bucharest, as well as to the Piatra Soimului villa in Sinaia.
Rovana Plumb said Romania’s private sector must become an engine of tourism, and we are facing challenges such as energy, emissions of greenhouse gases, water consumption, waste management and the loss of biodiversity, environment.
She reminded that the management plan for the sustainable development project of the Danube Delta Biosphere had been submitted through the SOP Environment.
She also underscored that she considers the rehabilitation and expansion of Sulina Port, the infrastructure in Murighiol area, Sfantu Gheorghe, upgrading the cantons at Samova, Caraoman, Gura Portitei, as well as creating a new theme route in the area near Sulina Port. On the other hand, Rovana Plumb added that her ministry’s strategy is also aimed at rehabilitating and expanding the area of the Black Sea’s beaches, for which some EUR 112 M will be allocated by 2020.
Vacaresti Lake or Bucharest Delta Project kicks off
The development of the Vacaresti Lake project in southern Bucharest, the so-called Delta Behind the Blocks, is a priority to the Environment Ministry, part in the strategy of biodiversity preservation, and it has been already started, Environment Minister Rovana Plub told a news conference on environmental issues, on Tuesday, Agerpres informs. ‘The project started last year and we hope to get it finished as soon as possible. The Romanian Academy okayed the Environment Ministry to turn the Vacaresti Lake into natural protected area. The most important element we have to follow here is the situation of the properties located the Lake area, an issue closely monitored by a Ministerial special Commission,’ Minister Plumb stressed. The Vacaresti Lake is also known in Romania as the Bucharest Delta Behind the Blocks because it very much takes after the Danube Delta. In this 200-ha wide ecosystem of vegetation, wetland, and underground waters, there are a great variety of fishes, wild ducks, swans, lizards, and sea-gulls.
