“We lack enough accommodation capability to attract more foreign tourists. We need 50 more hotels. For example, in July and August, the hotels on the seaside are full of Romanian citizens and it is hard to bring 10,000-15,000 more foreign tourists per week without accommodation capabilities,“ said Aurelian Marin, president with National Association of Tourism Agencies (ANAT).
Tourists from Israel, Moldova, Poland usually come to the Romanian seaside. In 2015, airline flights on Mihail Kogalniceanu airport facilitated tourist arrivals from Great Britain and Italy.
“The seaside is not included in the country brand but promotion is made at international tourism fairs that welcome private operators and promotion associations,“ added Marin.
He also said the Romanian seaside will further grow with the aid of the southern resorts, as Mamaia reached maturity.
Over the last years, southern seaside resorts accounted for facelifts due to several investments in upgrading hotels. Venus is one of the resorts that attracted many investments over the past years, with hotels such as Turquoise, Ammon, as well as Inter or Melodia.
A number of 1.5 million tourists visited the Romanian seaside in 2015, up 15-20% from a year before.
(English version by Manuela Panescu)