The Federation of Employers in the Hospitality Industry in Romania (FPIOR) is calling on the Government to abandon the plan to increase VAT in HoReCa from January 1, 2026, warning that the measure would lead to massive price hikes and loss of competitiveness in the sector.
According to the organization, raising VAT would mean:
- higher rates for festive dinners, weddings, christenings or simple restaurant outings;
- increased prices for accommodation, cafes and related services;
- Romania’s disadvantaged position on the European tourism market.
“If our prices go up through VAT, tourists will choose foreign destinations. Only ‘captive’ consumers will stay on the local market, the rest will leave,” said Valentin Șoneriu, president of FPIOR, emphasizing that in an open economy high VAT cannot be sustained.
For their part, Corina Macri and Ruxandra Stoica, vice-presidents of FPIOR, warned that the measure would further reduce domestic consumption, jeopardizing the survival of the industry. Corina Martin, the organization’s secretary-general, called the scenario of a 21% quota “a dramatic blow”, which would reduce entrepreneurs’ incomes and thus taxes paid to the state.
The industry has already been hit by the halving of the value of vacation vouchers, which has limited the access of hundreds of thousands of Romanians to domestic holidays.
FPIOR, the largest employers’ organization in the sector, brings together over 1,000 companies, covering 24 counties and Bucharest, through 29 employers’ associations and employing over 26,000 people.
Representatives of the sector are asking the Government for fiscal predictability and real dialog, not “populist” measures that risk leading to the collapse of HoReCa.