FPTR Contests Transfer of External Tourism Promotion Offices from ANT to the Institute of Foreign Trade
FPTR Contests Transfer of External Tourism Promotion Offices from ANT to the Institute of Foreign Trade
Romanian tourism, which is nearly 100% privately owned, is often affected when officials make decisions from their offices that are detached from reality, such as the transfer of external tourism promotion offices from the ANT to the newly established Institute of Foreign Trade.
For this reason, the Federation of Romanian Tourism Employers, FPTR, requests the Government to be consulted when decisions regarding tourism are made. The Federation, whose members have over 31,000 employees and a cumulative turnover exceeding 5 billion EUR, is the most important structure of its kind in Romanian tourism.
"While in other sectors the state still holds significant stakes, Romanian tourism is entirely private. Tourism employers know best what is happening in the market. The latest wrong measure, taken without consulting us, was the transfer of external tourism promotion offices from the National Tourism Authority, ANT, to the newly established Institute of Foreign Trade,” stated Mohammad Murad, president of the Federation of Romanian Tourism Employers, FPTR.
In December 2014, it was decided to establish the Romanian Institute of Foreign Trade, IRCE, which will have a total of 60 positions. Although it will handle exports, it will not oversee the 83 positions of Romania’s commercial attachés, but instead takes over the national tourism offices. The external tourism representations will be taken over without any support department, given that the newly established institute lacks specialized personnel in the field of tourism promotion, which has a special character, different from commercial promotion.
External representations will have to cooperate with the ANT to exercise their duties—the very institution from which they are being detached.
The transfer of representations from the ANT to the IRCE will certainly hinder the external market promotion activities of Romanian tourism companies. For example, to participate in international tourism fairs in Berlin or London, they will have to discuss with the ANT, which decides where and how to participate in international fairs, but also with the IRCE, which will be responsible for how the stand is organized.
The Federation of Romanian Tourism Employers (FPTR) is the leading industry body representing the private tourism sector, which accounts for nearly 100% of the market and employs over 31,000 people.
Why is the transfer to the Institute of Foreign Trade (IRCE) being criticized?
The FPTR argues that the IRCE lacks specialized expertise in tourism promotion and that the move creates unnecessary bureaucracy by splitting responsibilities between two different government entities.
How will this change impact Romanian tourism companies at international events?
Companies will now have to coordinate with both the ANT for participation strategy and the IRCE for stand organization, complicating the process for major events like fairs in Berlin or London.
