According to data from the Ministry of Tourism, in 2017, a total of 107 travel agencies in Romania lost their operating licenses, while 125 such companies were struck off at their express request.<\/p>\n
At the same time, last year, classification certificates were withdrawn for 31 accommodation structures, while 8 public catering structures lost their operating certificates.<\/p>\n
On December 18, 2017, the Minister of Tourism, Mircea Dobre, stated during a public debate on the Guarantee Fund for tourist packages in Romania that the application norms for the Guarantee Fund for tourist packages would be ready by the end of January 2018, and starting in 2018, efforts would be made to create a special law for an insurance pool, based on the PAID model.<\/p>\n
According to the minister, participation in a Guarantee Fund is mandatory in most countries, with Denmark, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, and the UK being on this list. Additionally, Germany has mandatory insurance policies, while Austria uses insurance and bank guarantees.<\/p>\n
In the context of creating a Guarantee Fund for tourist packages, the minister emphasized that the ordinance had been voted on and was at the Presidency for promulgation.<\/p>\n
Currently, there are 2,655 authorized travel agencies in Romania, according to the list displayed on the Ministry of Tourism’s website and updated on December 15, 2017, the majority of which consist of small agencies.<\/p>\n