Romania’s Tourism Fair
Almost 300 companies took part in the 35th edition of Romanias Tourism Fair, held in Bucharest, between February 25 and 28, with offers for both domestic and foreign tourism.
Daniel Onea, 03.03.2016, 13:54
As expected, travel agencies offered early booking and last minute offers for all tourist areas in Romania. Spa tourism was a widely available option.Molnar Akos is manager of a hotel complex in Baile Tusnad. The resort is famous for its natural waters, ideal for treating heart conditions:
Molnar Akos:“We have a great spa, very comfortable, with wellness services. We have a four-star hotel offering a package for Orthodox Easter, with three night stays, Friday to Monday. Next to the hotel there is a small Orthodox church, and we adapted the scheduling of the dinner to its schedule of masses. The price per person is 740 lei, about 165 Euro, which includes traditional Romanian festive meals, which are Swedish buffet. For the summer we include spa, massage, and treatment. The package includes medical tests, and covers five days, but our recommendation for best results is 10 to 12 days. We have customers from Israel who stay for as much as a month each year, because they love the water and its curative effects.”
Rodica Penea, Secretary General of the Romanian Spa Tourism Employers Association in Romania, recalls that Romania has a third of Europe’s curative waters. Their miraculous effects have been known since antiquity, and to this day they are the ideal solution for treatment.
Rodica Penea: “I would like to recommend at least two of the programs we offer: ‘One Week Spa Recovery’, which includes accommodation, breakfast and two daily procedures, for a price of 330 lei, the equivalent of 75 Euro, and a so-called Spa Decade, 10 days full accommodation with two daily procedures, for a price of 650 LEI, about 145 Euro. This is the fee for two stars. For three stars, the price goes up by about 30 lei. We also have the ‘Let’s Go to the Spa’ package, for a price of 545 lei, about 120 Euro, or the Spa Wellness package, also for 545 lei”.
Calin Doba, marketing manager of a hotel in Baile Felix has on offer medicinal herbs and mud baths, and various treatment programs in February-March and September-October: “We have recently opened an Aqua Park, and we have redone the promenade alleys. We have 7 night packages for two people, which cost about 500 Euro, whereas a full service package for two, treatment included, sells for 600 Euro. We have tourists from Austria, Germany, Israel, and recently we work with Finland as well.”
Irina Sandu, with the Tourist Info Center in Iasi, told us that a lot of cultural events are scheduled for 2016, but that should not keep you from visiting the tourist sites: “This year we offer lots of tourism promotion materials: a bilingual guidebook, a magazine on local traditions in Iasi, Botosani, Galati and the Republic of Moldova, as well as a map with the main sites in Iasi. We worked with travel agencies to promote educational tourism and a few city-break offers. Iasi has a lot to offer. The Palace of Culture opens in April, and there are also some ‘must see’ museums, such as the Cuza University Museum, the small house of the prominent Romanian writer, Ion Creanga, as well as the Sadoveanu and Eminescu memorial houses.”
Nicolae Tescula, director of the Sighisoara History Museum, invited us to Transylvania, in western Romania: “Sighisoara is the only town in Romania which is a UNESCO heritage site. It is also one of the few towns in Europe where medieval fortifications have been preserved almost unaltered, as much as 90%. It has been continuously inhabited for 800 years, and you can get there quickly. It is a city that reflects very well the history of the Transylvanian, Romanian Middle Ages, and the way people lived hundreds of years ago. We have a history museum laid out in the clock tower. It is Romania’s only vertical museum, documenting the 14th century.”
Gabriel Ditu, manager of a tourist complex in the Danube Delta, at Gura Portitei, invited us to take a trip to the seaside: “Tourists have the opportunity to discover an area unique in Europe, a 150 meter wide sand strip between the Black Sea and the Reazim Sinoe laguna. They will also have an opportunity to relax in Gura Portitei holiday village. The waves of the sea can be heard from your room. A five-night stay off-season for two is about 100 Euro. If you opt for full accommodation off-season, you should pay an extra charge of 90 Euros per person. If you want to spend a vacation in full season, in August, instead of 280 Euro you will pay almost 400 Euro for five nights.”
“Easter in Bukovina” and “Easter in Maramures” are two other programs promoted at the Tourism Fair. They run between 65 and 300 Euro, depending on the options you pick.
