Growth was driven by a measure introduced last fall to grant vacation vouchers of RON1,450 per person to public sector employees.
The association said the EUR12.5 million will enter the local tourism industry within a year of their issuance.
“Granting vacation vouchers to public sector employees is a welcome measure that should be kept in the long run to support domestic tourism. Sadly, the government decided to grant such vouchers to public employees only until December 1,” said ANAT president Nicolae Demetriade.
As of December, public sector employees are set to receive indemnities instead of vacation vouchers.
Vacation vouchers were introduced in Romania in 2009 but the government stopped granting them as salary bonuses after one year due to the economic crisis. Since then, the granting of vacation vouchers has been regulated each year.
ANAT includes 500 tour operators that total over 80% of sales of tour and vacation packages, estimated at nearly EUR1 billion a year. The Romanian tourism industry has over 120,000 employees and contributes nearly 2% of gross domestic product to the country’s economy.