Karpaten Turism Nominated for TopHotel Awards 2022: Best Program for Incoming Tourism

Karpaten Turism, one of the largest tour operator agencies in Romania, winner of the Incoming Tour Operator category in 2018 and 2019 at the most important annual recognition event for relevant projects in the Romanian tourism and hospitality industry – TopHotel Awards – is running again until May 25, 2022, for Best Program for Incoming Tourism regarding its exceptional activity in 2021.

The vote will take place online between April 27 and May 11, 2022, and will be expressed nominally by accessing the event website.

Founded in 1996, Karpaten Turism was one of the first tour operator agencies to specialize in organizing complex travel packages and services, both locally and abroad. Promoting Romania’s tourist attractions and attracting foreign tourists have been the main priorities that led over time to its position as a market leader in organizing circuits, cruises, and stays. The company currently owns a fleet of 16 modern coaches, two cruise ships in the Danube Delta, and two hotels, Hotel Piemonte**** in Predeal and Casa Bazna*** in Sibiu County, continuously investing in its over 200 employees and supporting the sustainable development of tourism at a national level.

After an absence of the organizer in 2020 and an encouragement edition held in May 2021, May 25, 2022, will mark the crowning of the first strong comeback edition of the TopHotel Awards competition, for which Karpaten Turism has every reason to apply.

In the very difficult year of 2021, Karpaten Turism still managed to bring a significant number of foreign tourists to Romania, marking the following achievements:

• river cruise programs (520 dockings) meaning 80,643 tourists, i.e., 27.2% compared to 2019.
• cultural circuit programs (104 circuits) meaning 2,704 tourists, i.e., 11.7% compared to 2019.

The company continued its investment in Bazna and brought over 1,200 tourists to that area.
Incoming tourism in a sustainable development regime represents the future, and such activity was carried out in 2021 through:

• accommodation in a complex of traditional Saxon houses transformed into a “resort”;
• carriage rides in the area, specially equipped (“tender”, table, protection against precipitation, etc.);
• visiting fortified churches leased and undergoing restoration by the company (e.g., Boian);
• organ concert in the fortified church of Bazna (organ rehabilitated also with the financial support of the company).

Although the achievements at Bazna are already notable, and richly described and illustrated details follow below, the “Casa Bazna” resort will only apply for the relevant category in 2023, when the investment will be finalized.

Sustainable Development of Incoming Tourism in the Târnave Area

The area in the Târnave Plateau near Bazna (Germ. Baasen) is an area inhabited since the Bronze Age and first mentioned in documents in the 1200s. The Saxons were the ones who later colonized the area and who built, around the 1400s on a hill in the middle of the village, a beautiful fortified church. The 1700s brought recognition to the area through its mineral waters, sapropelic mud, and salt springs, having healing qualities studied by doctors arriving from Vienna at the beginning of the 19th century.
This led to the arrival of tourists in Bazna for spa treatments, and in 1843, the resort of the same name was established. It was taken over by the Evangelical community, which transformed it into a spa resort known throughout Transylvania.

Thanks to its natural landscape, Bazna is also a suitable destination for those who prefer relaxation in the middle of nature, for hiking enthusiasts, or for bicycle circuits on the orchard-covered hills and through the beech forests surrounding the locality.
Karpaten Turism was involved in the acquisition of 4 Saxon households which it transformed into a “resort” with 63 rooms intended for incoming tourism (www.casabazna.ro)

Foreign tourists are enthusiastic about the carriage rides pulled by strong horses, from the center of Bazna to the fortified church in Boian and back. This lasts approx. 2.5 hours, including the stop at Boian. During the journey, tourists sit on wooden benches around tables.

Here, upon descending from the carriages, Karpaten tourists continue to exchange impressions about this incursion into the rural authenticity of Romania, so unusual for most foreign visitors.

The Saxon village of Boian (Germ. Bonnesdorf) has been documented since the 1300s and, in the past, bore the name “Lower Bazna”.

An interesting aspect, noted by some tourists, is that the church built here in the 15th century and later fortified, bears the coat of arms of Moldavia – the aurochs head – right on the tower through which one enters the enclosure. This is explained by the fact that Moldavian rulers from Stephen the Great onwards received possessions in Transylvania, as in the case of the Cetatea de Baltă (located only 7 km away) or Bran Castle, etc.

After visiting the Boian fortified church, once back in the inner courtyard, visitors are greeted with a glass of Romanian wine which they like very much! The stories continue with even more verve…

HIGHLIGHT of the horse-drawn carriage ride: the stop for photos, in an idyllic setting, on the road connecting Bazna to Boian (especially in summer when tourists can freely admire the herd of buffalo, cows, or horses). In addition, they photograph Saxon houses, snapshots of village life, and remain very impressed by the authenticity of the local traditions encountered.

The Evangelical fortified church of Bazna was built in Gothic style at the end of the 14th century and was last restored in 2004. The motto that tourists can read above the entrance is: Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott (“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”), an exhortation that has been preserved even after the departure of the Saxons from this area.

In the bell tower, which is also a gate tower, three bells from the 14th and 15th centuries are preserved. Visitors arriving here are impressed by the massive wooden beams that have been so well preserved, with joints that denote the thoroughness of the craftsmen and give them a sense of security. And the panorama is remarkable. On one side, the village, with its inimitable Saxon profile, and on the other side, nature, with many agricultural lands stretching across a wide, green valley.

This is the place where tourists can enjoy, for 45 – 60 minutes, a special organ concert. They consider this concert to be something fantastic, being hosted inside a fortified church. They are delighted by both the chosen repertoire and the performance of the organists coming from Mediaș. Before the concert, tourists receive detailed explanations related to the baroque organ in the church, made by Johannes Hahn and finished in 1757; the organ together with the front balustrade represents a harmonious work of art.

Karpaten guides tell of several groups where tourists from Germany, with tears of joy in their eyes at the end of the concert, gathered in a circle to perform some church songs and somehow continue the state that gripped them during the listening of the pieces from the religious repertoire.

Tourists can see in the fortified churches a distinctive element of Transylvania, a unique element, a blending of the sacred dimension of prayer (“GOTT”) with the military, defensive one (“BURG”), which tells us a lot about the life of the people in this community over the centuries and about the role of fortified churches in protecting communities against various attackers (Tatars, Turks, etc.).

On the other hand, they are amazed by the Saxon houses built in these lands, massive, with thick walls, most of which are abandoned. They want to know why this area, with so much potential, is not being repopulated. However, they are happy when they learn about the renovation plans related to the historical monuments in the area, and some of them promise to get actively involved in supporting the traditions and culture discovered here.