The share of the tourism industry in the country’s GDP has chances to double in the next two to three years due to a fair and consistent cooperation between the relevant ministry and the private sector, minister of Tourism Mircea-Titus Dobre said at the official opening of the Romanian Tourism Fair (TTR) at the Romexpo exhibition complex in Bucharest.
“As a representative of a public central institution of the Romanian state responsible for the industry of tourism, I think that a fair and consistent cooperation must exist with business milieu representatives. We must accomplish things together and we can do this only through long-time cooperation. I want to thank all those who had the courage to invest in tourism, because the sector wasn’t high on the state’s priority list. I want to thank all those who took the risk and promoted Romanian tourism in the country and outside country borders. I am referring here to all things promotion, including by travel agencies and not only that. I want us to have an open cooperation based on mutual respect,” said the minister of Tourism, who mentioned that tourism currently accounts for 1.3 pct of the GDP.
The Romexpo Tourism Fair has 15 countries showcasing their offer and the event’s degree of internationalization is 33 pct.
“The Romanian Tourism Fair this year has a high degree of internationalization, specifically 33 pct. We have 15 countries participating. The fair covers an exhibition area of 13,410 sqm, placing it among the highest-scale events organized by Romexpo. I’m glad that we now have a dedicated Ministry of Tourism because we hope this industry makes an important contribution to the country’s GDP,” said Mihai Daraban, president of Romania’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The Romanian Tourism Fair is organized and hosted by Romexpo in partnership with Romania’s Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Romania’s National Association of Travel Agencies (ANAT), the Organisation of Romania’s Health Tourism Employers (OPTBR), the Federation of Romania’s Travel Employers (FPTR) and the National Association of Rural and Ecological Tourism (ANTREC).
Public employees to be granted holiday voucher worth 1,450 lei on 1 July
On 1 July, the public employees will receive one holiday voucher worth 1,450 lei (rd. EUR 322), on Thursday said the Tourism Minister, Mircea-Titus Dobre, in a conference at the Romania Travel Fair (TTR) at Bucharest’s Romexpo exhibition centre.
“As scheduled in the ruling programme, on 1 July 2017, holiday vouchers for the public employees comes into force. We have modified the legislation under an emergency ordinance (OUG). The holiday vouchers are not abrogated until 31 December 2017, as initially decided, but until 1 July. Currently, the law provides for each public employee to get six holiday vouchers each worth the national minimum wage. We are going to amend this OUG that provides for six vouchers to cut them down to one single voucher, because this is what the Romanian state can pay,” said the minister.
The holiday voucher have to be used in one calendar year.
Danube Delta, unique in Europe, provides Romania’s Black Sea coast assets
The assets of the Romanian Black Sea coast are provided by the Danube Delta, a unique place in Europe, says Romanian Tourism Minister Mircea-Titus Dobre.
‘Each area, each country has its own peculiarities, and when it comes to the assets of the Romanian Black Sea coast, I believe they are related to the Danube Delta, a unique place in Europe. This is a huge advantage over competitors in the area. We cannot argue about the colour of the sea in Greece or Romania, whether or not there are algae; these are things that depend on nature, not on us, people. I believe each country has its own beauties, and Romania has its own spectacular places as well,’ Dobre told a conference on Thursday as part of Romania’s International Travel Show (TTR) at the Romexpo Exhibition Centre in Bucharest.
He released, at the stand of the Tourism Ministry, an application called ‘Traieste povestea Romania’ (Live Out the Story Romania), a new promotional concept that highlights all of Romania’s resources, including cultural ones.
Mentioning a shortage of qualified workforce in Romania’s travel industry, Dobre said there is a plank in the ruling programme specifying the reestablishment of a centre for travel education.
‘We are still following Government Decision 120/2010 that already provides us with very many areas for investment. But, as long as the decision is in place, we work on a travel investment master plan, expected to be completed on July 1, 2017, when it becomes law under a government decision, the only way in which we can make transfers from the ministry to the local public administrations. The Tourism Ministry deals strictly with investment monitoring, not including all that means procedures for those investments,’ said Dobre.
He added that he would like to improve taxation in the case of seasonal workers.
