Skiing holiday in Romania
Romanian pupils are on holiday, with skiing resorts packed as a result.
Sorin Iordan, 23.02.2024, 13:50
Mountain resorts are full at this time of the year, all the more so as the weather has been good and there’s enough snow for the winter sports. It’s also the time of the so-called “skiing holiday” in Romania, a one-week break from school taken in the period between 12th February and 1st March, as chosen by each county. Only two counties chose to have this holiday between 12th and 18th February, with 25 other counties and the capital Bucharest going for the current week and 14 counties for next week.
The mountain resort of Poiana Braşov in central Romania is one of the most popular destinations these days. According to the Snowpro ski instructors association, conditions are good or acceptable here and the layer of snow is 20-30 cm. Romanians’ interest in spending their holidays in their own country is up this year, says a big travel company, with bookings growing by 30% compared to the same period last year, especially as a result of special offers requiring lower advance payments. The increase reflects the trend seen in 2023, when the number of tourists grew on average by 11% compared to the previous year.
According to the National Institute for Statistics, tourist arrivals stood at 13.65 million in 2023, up 10.5% compared to 2022, with 88.6% being from Romanian tourists. The biggest increase in the number of tourists was recorded by the capital Bucharest and the country’s main tourist regions: Constanţa county, which includes the resorts on the Black Sea coast, and Braşov county, with its well-known mountain resorts. Most foreign tourists who arrived in Romania last year came from Germany, namely over 218,000, Italy, almost 187,000, and Israel, around 150,000. The number of Romanian tourists who spent their holidays abroad grew by 12.6% in 2023 compared with 2022. (CM)
