DMOs are Destination Management Organizations, a modern way of promoting destinations in Romania. They are financed by a tourist tax, which can have various names, which is collected by the accommodation establishments and paid to the town halls in the area where they operate. Part of this money goes to the regional MDG, part to the national MDG. There are many town halls that, even though they are in tourist areas, do not want to set up these DMOs, in order not to transfer money to the regional and national DMO. There are some who simply don’t understand how this system works! Today, there are only 18 MDGs and, unfortunately, there is no Bucharest MDG, which is extremely important, and no national MDG, which is the responsibility of the ministry managing tourism. It is very important for there to be a MDG service within the ministry or the future National Tourism Authority, which would be responsible for presenting the advantages of setting up these structures and providing assistance and advice on setting them up. Basically, in a few years’ time, Romania’s promotion budget should be collected through these MDGs. We must all understand that at international tourism fairs, first the country, Romania, is promoted, then the region (the coastline), then the resort (Mamaia), and only finally the hotel. This is the only way to really promote Romania with a solid budget. For many years, Romania has had an extremely small promotion budget of EUR 1.5 million per year. This year, the promotion budget is higher, at EUR 4.4 million, but, as a country, we need at least EUR 20 million for real promotion, which will have an impact, i.e. attract foreign tourists to Romania.
Alin Burcea: What are MDGs and what can they do?
