The number of foreign tourists in Romania increased by about 17% last year, and a 20% increase is estimated for this year. In parallel, however, the number of rooms has not increased, and if things evolve at this pace, in a few years, tourists will no longer have space in hotels in Bucharest and resorts across the country during peak periods, hoteliers believe.
According to ANT data, between 2014 and 2016, only 389 rooms with 771 beds were inaugurated in Bucharest.
In 2015, the number of foreign tourists increased by 16.9% compared to 2014, and estimates for this year bring an increase of about 20% compared to 2015, meaning an additional 450,000 foreign tourists in the country, with about 900,000 overnight stays.
90% of foreign tourists sleep in hotels, said Calin Ile, president of the Romanian Hotel Industry Federation, FIHR.
Across the country, there are 71,251 rooms classified at 3, 4, and 5 stars.
But what happens if the situation favors us and next year we have another 15% growth for Romanian tourism. It means another 3.6 million overnight stays just for 2017, but if we imagine this growth rate until 2020, what do we do, asks Calin Ile.
Do we have where to accommodate those coming for the 3.6 million overnight stays planned for 2017? We are not even calculating for 2018 or 2019, the year of Romania’s EU presidency, or even 2020, when the European Football Championship will take place in the country, or 2021, when Timisoara will be the cultural capital.
Calin Ile also specified that Bucharest has about 13,000 viable rooms, and the city operates with an average occupancy rate of over 65% in 2015, compared to 63% in 2014. As 2016 brings another 3% increase to the market, Bucharest is approaching an average occupancy rate of 68% per year. If no new rooms appear on the market, as the trend of recent years seems to be, Bucharest can only accommodate a maximum of 200,000 more overnight stays.
The seaside has a large accommodation capacity, about 50,000 rooms or 108,000 beds, but it operates at maximum capacity for at most 90 days a year, when the occupancy rate is already very high. Unfortunately, Ile believes, many of these accommodation places are not at the level to attract foreign tourists, and those that have reached this level practice high rates, difficult to access for the mass tourist from abroad. However, the seaside can absorb at most 100,000 more tourists, meaning 200,000 overnight stays.
“Do we risk, perhaps, suffocating under this growth current and being overheated by an additional demand that we do not know how to manage efficiently?”, asks the FIHR president.
He estimates that there are two major risks: the first starting from the workforce, already insufficient for the current number of tourists. The second risk comes from the lack of private and public investments for tourism.
Source: Profit
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the current growth rate of foreign tourism in Romania?
The number of foreign tourists increased by 17% last year, with an additional 20% growth estimated for the current year.
How many hotel rooms are available in Bucharest?
Bucharest has approximately 13,000 viable rooms, operating at an average occupancy rate of over 65%.
What are the main risks facing the Romanian hotel industry?
The primary risks are the labor shortage and the lack of both private and public investment in tourism infrastructure.