Christmas as a business: Tourists have spent EUR 18 million

Ioana Erdei 27/12/2018 | 09:28

More than 139,000 Romanian tourists spent approximately 18 million euros in nationwide destinations during the Christmas holiday, according to an analysis of the Federation of Romanian Tourism Employers (FPTR).

“A number of more than 139,000 Romanians spent their Christmas holiday this year in locations in Romania, where they spent approximately 18 million euros on accommodation, meals and fun. According to the FPTR, the average spending of the tourists who preferred the Romanian resorts accounted for approximately 570 lei per sojourn, amount covering only accommodation and the meals included in the tourist offers, which is an increase by 14 per cent on last year. Additional spending on travel and fun accounted for an average 500 lei per sojourn for each tourist,” according to a release of the FPTR on Wednesday sent to AGERPRES.

This year, Christmas and New Year’s Eve represent the last opportunity for the Romanians still having holiday tickets that expire at the end of the year to use them. Thus, many Romanians chose to spend the holidays in the country, with the number of tourists opting for domestic resorts having increased by 14 per cent.

“As Christmas this year followed immediately after the week-end and the Government approved free days for the public employees, the demand was even higher and the number of Romanians who took the chance and used their holiday tickets choosing to spend their five free days far from home was also higher,” Dragos Raducan, FPTR executive first vice president, said.

Most tourists wanted to spend their Christmas in a traditional fashion, with the most demanded accommodation units during this time of the year being the rural boarding houses, where the occupancy rate exceeded 90 per cent, as approximately 55,000 tourists were accommodated in such rural boarding houses. The most desired destinations in the rural environment were Bran, Maramures, Bucovina and the Sibiu area, where the hosts of the boarding houses welcomed tourists with traditional food and Romanian customs.

Welcoming carolers around the camp fire, the traditional suits, the customs associated with the pig slaughter and sleigh rides are only some of the attractions in these areas.

Tariffs varied between 350 and 800 lei per person, depending on each tourist’s destination and preferences.

Next among the preferences of the tourists for the winter holiday were the accommodation units in the spa resorts. These were preferred by approximately 25,000 tourists, due to the large range of services offered, most of the tourists choosing to relax at the spa centres or at the swimming pool.

Tariffs varied between 500 and 750 lei per person for 3 days, for a 3-star hotel.

The mountain resorts welcomed approximately 24,000 tourists on Christmas. The ski tracks arranged on Prahova Valley and the other mountain resorts were prepared for the skiers and snowboard lovers, as well as for the children who wanted to have a sleigh ride.

In this area, the tariffs were between 500 and 900 lei per persons, depending on the comfort level, services and number of days.

The same as last year, some Romanians who chose to spend the Christmas celebrations abroad, in various exotic destinations, with warm weather, or in city breaks in the European countries.

The most sought after destinations in Europe were the resorts in Austria, Bulgaria, Switzerland or France, but besides the winter sports, they also attracted the tourists with the Christmas fairs and thematic events.

In terms of exotic destinations, most Romanians chose Dubai, Egypt or Morocco. They spent between 500 and 3,000 euros per persons in such destinations, depending on each tourist’s demands.

According to the FPTR, the data are approximated and they were obtained based on the estimates provided by the members of the Federation and the survey that took into account a significant number of tour operators.

 

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