The conclusions of the Labour Day and Easter holiday

The authorities and hoteliers in Romania have made their assessments in the wake of the Labour Day and Easter holiday.

Bogdan Matei, 08.05.2024, 13:50

Around 25,000 police, gendarmerie and border police forces, as well as fire fighters were in action every day to ensure citizens’ safety over the Labour Day and Easter holiday, said the interior ministry in Bucharest. Special attention was given to tourist resorts, churches, places hosting public events, train stations, airports and other busy areas. Over 200 public events were monitored, attended by around 170,000 people. On Easter Eve, the security forces conducted patrols around Romania’s 12,000 churches, attended by 2.6 million people for the midnight service.

Law enforcement authorities said they noticed fewer problems this year compared with last year, namely 37.5% fewer burglaries and 42.8% fewer serious road accidents, with 47.8% fewer persons sustaining injuries in road accidents and 13% fewer casualties. Emergency situation crews carried out 1,540 actions, 60 of which aimed at extinguishing fires. The police handed out around 60,000 fines over the holiday, amounting to almost 5 million euros, the spokeswoman for the interior ministry Monica Dajbog said on Tuesday. 4,500 motorists who were considered a threat to public safety lost their driving licences, 600 of them for drunk driving and 87 for driving while under the influence of drugs and other banned substances.

The authorities also conducted checks on the Black Sea coast, at the Sunwaves festival in Mamaia, one of the most popular techno music festivals in eastern Europe. The police found dozens of young people who were in possession of drugs and who are now subject to criminal investigations. The police also arrested foreign citizens intending to sell high risk drugs, such as ecstasy, cocaine and ketamine.

On the other hand, the hoteliers in Mamaia, a resort stretching over 8 km with 30,000 accommodation places, are complaining that people didn’t really flock to their resort; while tourists are complaining of very high prices and often subpar services in hotels and restaurants. Employers in the hospitality industry say there has been a shortage of local labour and skilled labour for some years now, which is why many are hiring workers from South Asia, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal.