More and more Romanians are organizing their own vacations abroad, avoiding travel agencies
More and more Romanians are organizing their own vacations abroad, avoiding travel agencies
More and more Romanians are organizing their own vacations abroad, avoiding travel agencies
Romanians who chose to spend their holiday vacation abroad had to choose between ski and winter sports destinations, city-break packages in European cities, and distant exotic destinations. However, even though they benefited from a large number of days off, only 10,870 Romanian tourists turned to travel agencies for New Year’s Eve abroad, the rest preferring to organize their trip on their own.
Thus, the number of tourists who used agencies decreased by approximately 2% compared to 2019, spending approximately 6.015 million EUR. Most bought packages for ski and winter sports destinations in Austria, France, Italy, and Bulgaria, according to calculations by the Federation of Romanian Tourism Employers (FPTR).
As in previous years, city breaks and warm-climate countries were the most sought after by Romanian tourists during the holidays.
From year to year, Romanians tend to organize their vacations on their own, using online booking systems to purchase tourism services. Most reserve specifically the flight ticket and accommodation in foreign destinations, giving up meal and leisure services, which they purchase on-site.
At the same time, about 170,000 tourists spent New Year’s Eve 2019/2020 in domestic resorts, 2.5% more than the previous year, where they spent nearly 44 million EUR, an increase of 10% compared to New Year’s Eve 2018/2019.
Nationally, a 2.5% increase in the number of tourists was recorded. As expected, the highest number of places sold for New Year’s Eve was recorded in rural tourism, with 58,500 tourists spending New Year’s Eve at guesthouses, 2.6% more than last year. The most sought-after areas were Prahova Valley, Poiana Brasov, Paltinis, Ranca, Straja, Calimanesti, Felix, and traditional rural areas like Bran-Moieciu, Maramures, and Bucovina.
Spa resorts hosted over 25,600 Romanians during the winter holidays, a decrease of 9.3% compared to last year. 49,300 people opted for mountain areas, 32.4% more than last year, with the main mountain resorts being fully booked during this period.
Romanians spent over 210.857 million RON on domestic New Year’s packages, an increase of 17.5% compared to the previous year.
Why are Romanians increasingly choosing to organize their own vacations?
Romanians are shifting toward online booking systems for flights and accommodation to gain more flexibility and typically purchase dining and leisure services locally at their destination.
Which domestic destinations were most popular for New Year’s Eve?
Rural tourism saw the highest demand, particularly in areas like Bran-Moieciu, Maramures, and Bucovina, while mountain resorts in the Prahova Valley remained highly sought after.
How did travel agency bookings for trips abroad change?
There was a 2% decrease in tourists using agencies for New Year’s Eve abroad compared to the previous year, with only 10,870 people choosing professional travel packages.
