CLUJ-NAPOCA, TRANSYLVANIA, ROMANIA, September 20, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Romania is one of the European countries with great tourism potential. However, this potential is not being fully exploited.

This is why this sector generates economic deficit, and economic actors in the HoReCa sector end up relying on foreigners' money, according to a study conducted by Babeș-Bolyai University.

One of the reference months was June 2024. At the start of the summer season, Romanian tourists spent more than 700 million euros abroad. This is a very significant amount, as Romanians allocated, on average, 25 percent of their saved income to enjoy their vacation. Also in June 2024, foreigners vacationing in Romania spent only 300 million euros.

The economic reasons why Romanian tourists prefer to vacation abroad are higher incomes and exchange rate stability, says the vice-rector of Babes-Bolyai University, Levente Szász. "Over the last year, more precisely between June 2023 and June 2024, real wages have risen above the inflation rate and the exchange rate has remained fairly stable. Under these conditions, Romanian tourists, or the majority of them, decided to spend abroad to have the vacations they wanted," explains the researcher from the Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj.

On a subjective level, Romanian tourists prefer to go abroad because they want to enjoy new experiences, but also because vacations abroad are a symbol of good social status and some Romanians simply want to show off.

However, in parallel with the increase in tourist spending by Romanians abroad, the income generated in the HoReCa industry by foreign tourists has also increased. The growth rate was 12% and the total amount earned by Romanian hoteliers, restaurant and café owners amounted to 300 million euros.

The number of foreign tourists is growing in Romania, but at a slower pace. This phenomenon has objective causes, says Răzvan V. Mustață, the dean of the Faculty of Economical Sciences and Business Administration of the Babeș-Bolyai University.

"Foreign guests demand quality services in exchange for the money they spend. Consequently, if Romania is not able to offer these services at high standards then foreign tourists will not choose our country. In other words, we charge too high a price for what we offer, in the sense that we don't get high quality services," said Dean Razvan V. Mustață.

The ratio between what Romanians spend abroad and what foreigners spend is boosted by the money Romanians living abroad bring into the country. This is more than €100 million. Many Romanians who work abroad prefer to come to the country because they can spend time with their families back home on vacation. But many of them don't spend money on accommodation because they stay with relatives or in houses they bought with the money they earned abroad.

These figures are also confirmed by data from Cluj-Napoca's Avram Iancu International Airport. Last year, for the first time in its history, the Cluj airport exceeded the threshold of 3,000,000 passengers per year.

In total, 3.2 million passengers were registered. The threshold of 3,000,000 passengers is likely to be exceeded this year as well, as in August the threshold of 2,000,000 passengers transported this year was reached. By 2030, the Cluj airport could reach 7,000,000 passengers annually. This growth is also supported by investments in infrastructure. The airport management inaugurated a new passenger terminal this year, following an 80 million euro investment.

"All this data is provided by the scientific community to policy makers. They can base decisions to boost Romanian tourism. The facts are simple: we need to convince as many Romanians as possible to spend their vacations in Romania and bring as many foreign tourists as possible. The fact that this is possible is demonstrated by the growth recorded in niches such as wine tourism or adventure tourism", says Leonard Horvath, Director of the UBB CORE Center.

UBB CORE is a career guidance center for scientific researchers and was created following an initiative of the teaching staff of the Babeș-Bolyai University. Specifically, the University of Cluj obtained European funding through the PNRR, with the help of which it created the North-West Regional Center for Career Guidance for Researchers UBB-CORE.

This center is part of a national network of eight such centers and provides career support and resources to researchers and academics from Transylvanian universities, especially those in the North-West Region, i.e. Cluj, Bistrița-Năsăud, Sălaj, Bihor, Maramureș and Satu Mare counties. The main partner of Babeș-Bolyai University in this project is the University of Oradea.

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