Tourism
Tourism is a significant contributor to the Romania Economy. In the 1990s the government heavily promoted the development of skiing in the Romanian Carpathians. Domestic and international tourism generates about 6% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 0.8 million jobs. Following commerce, tourism is the second largest component of the services sector. In 2006 Romania registered 20 million overnight stays by international tourists, 4% higher than in the previous year and an all-time record. Two-thirds of all major trade fairs from Central Europe are held in Romania, and each year they attract 2 to 3 million business travelers, about 20% of whom are foreigners. The four most important trade fairs take place in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iaşi, Timişoara.
In the year 2007, 7,722,000 tourists vacationed in Romania. The total revenue was $2.1 billion and with an average expenditure of $300 per tourist. Over the years, Romania has emerged as a popular tourist destination for many Europeans, often competing with Greece, Italy and Spain. Romania destinations such as Constanța and Mamaia (sometimes called the Romanian Riviera) have become very popular among European tourists.
Romania has a highly developed tourism infrastructure, making it a good market for tourism-related equipment and services.
In 2006 it is reported that the hotel and restaurant industry added gross value of $8,074 million to the Romanian economy in 2005.
Read more about this topic: Services In Romania
Famous quotes containing the word tourism:
“In the middle ages people were tourists because of their religion, whereas now they are tourists because tourism is their religion.”
—Robert Runcie (b. 1921)