Romanian pupils in international hospitality competitions

Romania's participation in hospitality competitions has grown significantly in recent years.

Ana-Maria Cononovici, 03.03.2026, 14:00

Romania’s participation in hospitality competitions has expanded significantly recently, moving from local competitions to notable results on the international stage, especially in the areas of gastronomy and hotel services. Divided into three sections, the WorldSkills Romania National Competition. Hospitality & Tourism 2026 has reached its fourth edition. The participants were 29 pupils from 12 specialised schools from four counties. In Romania, there are several high schools that train future workers in the tourism field. And as the winners of this edition were awarded during the spring edition of the Romanian Tourism Fair, we talked about the achievement of the Romanian pupils with Larisa Ile, the president and founder of Edu4Tourism, the Association of Teachers and Mentors in Tourism. What is the fourth edition of the World Skills Hotel Reception and Housekeeping about?

“It is dedicated to pupils from technological and dual technological high schools, and is a special competition for trades. Romania participates every year in world trade competitions. This year, in September, we are leaving for China, with ten trades, including that of hotel receptionist, a competition that involves 4 days of competition, from morning to evening and pupils must complete some tests that simulate the activity of a receptionist in a 5-star hotel. There are Economic High Schools, Service High Schools, Technological High Schools, they have one, two, three, or more classes in tourism, hotel management, travel agency, or public catering. We promote them through these international competitions, so that they become attractive not only for children, but also for their parents.”

The competition is organized by WorldSkills Romania and the Association of Tourism Teachers and Mentors “Edu4Tourism”, in partnership with Cnit Tourist Education, the Federation of the Hotel Industry of Romania, the Faculty of Business and Tourism, the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, the Romanian-American University and the Polytechnic University of Bucharest.

Larisa Ile, president and founder of the Association of Teachers and Mentors in Tourism, added:

“The pupil who won in 2024 went on to take part in the World Championship in Lyon, where we managed to sit alongside the other 21 world competitors. The same pupil, a year later, won the medal of excellence at the European competition and we are rubbing shoulders with the best in the field of hospitality. The pupil who won last year, in 2025, is invited to Shanghai in September, to participate again in the world competition. Romania has talent in hospitality and through these trades, the pupils demonstrate that we are where we need to be!”

Larisa Ile told us about this fourth edition of the competition:

“29 pupils participated in three sections: hotel receptionist, travel agent, and housekeeping. We have three sections, but only one goes on to international level, we hope the other two will also reach international level in the next competitions. One of today’s winners will go to Japan, in two years’ time.”

High schools from Braşov, Ploieşti, Bucharest, Sinaia and Timişoara have registered for the competition. Larisa Ile, president and founder of the Association of Teachers and Mentors in Tourism:

“Through this experience, pupils demonstrate that they learn to cope with difficult situations, learn about modesty, that we have to start from the bottom to reach the top and that we can’t reach the top overnight. It’s a lesson in competition, a lesson in resilience, a lesson in perseverance, which we can’t teach theoretically at school, but only experience practically in these competitions.”

Romania is also active in High Performance Gastronomy competitions, having qualified for the prestigious Bocuse d’Or Europe 2026, which will take place in Marseille. The National Team, consisting of Chef Vasilică Bejenaru, Liviu Preda and Andrei Fabian Lupoi, won the National Selection in November 2025 in Brașov.

The Romanian hospitality industry rewards excellence among its ranks through several annual events: the Romanian Hospitality Awards, which rewards excellence in the local hospitality industry; TopHotel Awards, the most important competition in Romania dedicated to the hotel, tourism and hospitality industry, now in its 13th edition; the Romanian Pizza Challenge 2025, organized within the FoodService & Hospitality Expo; Romania Sushi Cup (2025) and the National Neapolitan Pizza Championship in Oradea, whose second edition was held in June last year.

All this shows that the Romanian hospitality sector has developed, with a growing focus on sustainability, service quality and alignment with European standards.