Romania’s tourist attractions
Romania is promoting its tourist destinations at the world's largest trade fairs
Bogdan Matei, 06.03.2025, 13:50
The number of nights spent in tourist accommodation units in the European Union exceeded three billion in 2024, making it the best year for European tourism – according to data published on Wednesday by the European Statistical Office (Eurostat). Traditionally favorite destinations for tourists from all over the world, Spain (500 million), Italy (458) and France (451) took the podium again. At the opposite end were Luxembourg, Latvia and Estonia.
Romania is part of a massive group of EU member states with less than 50 million overnight stays recorded last year. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS), overnight stays in tourist accommodation units (including apartments and rooms for rent) totaled 30.191 million, up 3.5% compared to 2023. Overnight stays by Romanian tourists accounted for 83.7%, while those by foreign tourists accounted for 16.3%. Favorite destinations were the capital Bucharest and the counties of Brașov and Prahova, where the most popular Romanian mountain resorts are located.
The statistics also show that, by country, in January 2025, the most foreign tourists came from Italy – almost 17 thousand, the Republic of Moldova, Israel and Germany – each with 10-11 thousand. In parallel, the cultural tourism program ‘Attractive Romania’ has been present these days at the largest and most important tourism fair in the world, the one in Berlin. Experts talk about a diversified offer, which includes cultural circuits, active and adventure tourism, stays on the Black Sea coast and in the Danube Delta, as well as rural tourism.
It is the fifth Romanian participation of this type in major international trade fairs in just six months. Previously, in Italy, Great Britain, Spain or Poland, the same platform offered, in Romanian and in five foreign languages, updated information in video and photo format, through virtual tours, 3D animations, audio guides and texts. The program is coordinated by the Ministry of Investments and European Projects and, according to the organizers, the Romanian stand was always designed in a business format, for business meetings and for the promotion of services and packages intended for the corporate segment, including team building and city break solutions.
The offer also includes 12 thematic tourist routes, which, from northwest to southeast, cross the entire country, with 275 sites to visit, and which, by 2026, will also be signposted through specific road infrastructure. In addition to these destinations, valid in any season, specialists also expect a massive infusion of cultural tourism in August and September, when Bucharest will host, according to tradition, a marathon celebration of classical music, the famous George Enescu Festival. (MI)
