Romania’s Travel Fair, the autumn edition

More than 200 travel agents and tour operators took part in the autumn edition of Romanias Travel Fair, held over November 16 and 19, 2017 at the Romexpo Exhibition Compound in Bucharest.

Daniel Onea, 23.11.2017, 14:03

More than 200 travel agents and tour operators took part in the autumn edition of Romania’s Travel Fair, held over November 16 and 19, 2017 at the Romexpo Exhibition Compound in Bucharest. The Neamt County Council’s stall this autumn was quite original, as it enjoyed the presence of Santa Claus and recreated the beautiful atmosphere of the winter holidays. With details on that, here is Luiza Niculei, a member of the Neamt County Council.

Luiza Niculei: ”From December 15th to January 2018, we invite tourists to visit the Neamt Christmas Fair, with customs and traditions. There will be 38 little houses, where traditional products will be sold. Concerts will also be held. We have guests from Romania and abroad, who will create true fairytale days. And, on December 15, we will adorn the fir tree at the Princely Court jointly with the president of the Neamt County Council. “

The inaugural edition of the fair was a success, with more than 100,000 visitors. This year, their number is expected to double. Sanda Viţelar is a communication and media advisor at the Mures County Council. She participated in Romania’s Travel Fair with lots of maps and presentation materials for some notable tourist objectives, such as the fortified town of Sighisoara.

She has told us that Mures County is a perfect destination all year round: ”It has all possible tourist attractions, except for the seaside. Nevertheless, the salty water in the two balneal resorts in the county makes up for that. Sovata is a well known resort, famous especially for Ursu Lake there, whose waters have a heliothermal therapeutic effect that is unique in this part of Europe, resulted from a blend of salty and fresh waters. This lake has special thermal and balneal properties. There is also Sangeorzu de Mures, which this year has been granted the status of tourist resort. It has a SPA center, with salty water flowing straight from the ground, which is beneficial for conditions of the bone system. Then we have mountain tourism. In the upper Mures river valley we have the natural Deda Toplita Gorges and the Calimani Mountains Nature Reserve.”

Violeta Niţescu represents a company in the balneal resort of Govora that manages several hotels. Of them, the four-star hotel stands out due to its sumptuousness and rich history.

Violeta Nitescu: ”The building is dated 1914. It is Romania’s first hotel equipped with a treatment center. It was restored to its former glory, through European funding, in 2013. It’s a grandiose building. We plan to launch the tourist packaged for 2018 to include a special offer, a holiday in the first months of the year for the price of around 180 euros. This offer, that we named winter balneal-therapies, consists in accommodation for five nights breakfast included and also lunch or dinner, as well as 15 free-of-charge medical procedures. Also included in the offer is the medical check-up performed by our physician. Guests have unlimited access to a modern SPA center, provided with a Turkish bath Jacuzzi and saunas.”

Lucia Solomon with Timisoara’s Tourist Information Center told us about the city’s cultural venues, given that Timisoara has been designated Europe’s Capital of Culture in 2021.

“We are happy to present an appealing stand, with new materials and a series of videos aimed at promoting Timisoara’s annual festivals. The first, Tim Floralis, is in spring, a time when the city is beaming with colors, when the tulips are just blooming, and the entire city is beautified with flowers. A great number of important Romanian and foreign florists come to take part in the festival, usually slated for April or May. Then in early July we are organizing our annual Jazz Festival, concurrently with the Hearts Folk Music Festival. Timisoara also plays host to the Opera and Operetta Festival, and many other similarly appealing events”.

Maximilian Dragan is the coordinator of a project called “Sibiu, a culinary region in 2019”. It’s an ambitious project, aimed at combining tourism and food education: “We came up with an interesting challenge when it comes to tourism in Romania. Whereas in 2007 Sibiu was designated Capital of Culture, highlighting the cultural component of travel packages in Romania, starting 2019 we plan on bringing yet another of Sibiu’s strong tourist suits to the fore: its gastronomy. Starting 2019 we will be promoting tourist destinations from the cities of Sibiu and Medias, as well as from the entire Sibiu County, by means of their cuisine. The areas covered by the project are related to healthy food: special diets, the importance of healthy diets for children, in the context of childhood obesity having doubled in recent years. Our travel packages are carefully planned so as to promote a new healthy lifestyle in 2019”.

The popularity of Maramures has for a long time now exceeded its county limits. Dan Carpov, a representative of the Tourism Department with the Maramures County Council, told us about Christmas travel packages: “Our packages have increasingly diversified, tailored to suit families. Prices are already at a competitive level in Maramures, and the offer covers many traditional elements. For the Christmas holidays, our packages vary between 215 and 300 euros, including meals, outings around Maramures, a trip by the narrow-gauge steam-powered train, and many customs. New Year’s Eve packages are a bit more expensive, ranging between 320 and 430 euros, because they also include the New Year’s festive dinner. We offer additional discounts for families. Our travel agents tell us that most tourist units are already fully booked”.

Some of the travel packages are available in the period following the tourism fair. So make sure you contact your travel agent and make a booking soon.