Romania's Tourism Fair, the spring edition

The spring edition of the largest tourism fair staged in Romania brought together generous offers for various categories of tourists, whether they are into cultural or treatment tourism, or whether they 'd rather go for rural or business tourism offers. Visitors had the opportunity to discover some of Romania's most beautiful areas. Also , they found ready-made tourism packages for a holiday to remember, for extremely affordable prices.

Dana Matic, of the Visit Mureș Association, told us she has been taking part, for many years now, in both editions of the fair, the spring and the autumn edition. Dana Matic:

"Mures County has quite a few treasures to offer, and, as of late, because of the pandemic, we have been focusing on natural assets, on outdoor activities. That is why we invite our tourists to discover the castles. They are our strongest point. They are the heritage of the Hungarian nobility of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. We recommend a three, four-day tour, so they can visit the castles but also the mansions. "

Petru Maran works for the Sighetu-Marmatiei tourism promotion and information Centre. He has invited us to discover Maramures.Petru Maran:

"Ours is a very generous offer, culture-wise, but also in terms of adventure tourism, and my job is to present the Sighetu Marmatiei municipal city from a tourism perspective. When it comes to cultural tourism, I recommend the Maramures Museum, with its sections. I recommend the Maramures Village Museum, the Ethnographic Museum of Maramures, the Elie Wiesel Memorial House. There is a very important museum we also have in Sighetu Marmatiei: The Communism Victims and Resistance Memorial. You're sure to find out a lot about the communist repression in Romania and about the Sighetu Marmatiei prison. In the historical Maramures, I recommend that you visit the Merry Cemetery in Sapanta and the Peri Sapanta Monastery. We cannot ignore the narrow-gauge train on the Vaser Valley either. "

Anca Grădinariu is a representative of the Buzau Country Association, which was set up with a view to promoting one of Romania's less well-known regions. The Association has been submitting documentation so that UNESCO may recognize the Buzau Country as a geopark. The first assessment has already been made, or at least that's what we've been told, and we also found out the region would most likely be granted that status in May this year. Anca Gradinariu:

"We present the offers of the region. We have lots of leaflets for that. And joining us is the Buzau Country 's most distinguished representative, Amelia Papazissu, a living human treasure who can weave using the goat hair. We've got wines, then we also have the local craft beer. There are a great many magnificent areas in Buzau County, still unspoiled by mass tourism, with their prose and their cons. The region is wild and, if we reach a certain altitude, around the Mocearu Lake, we have the feeling we're in Switzerland or Iceland, the quietness there is impressive, what with the extraordinary guest houses, with people who are cooking experts. The Lopatari Mocearu Lake is my favorite region. "

A lively and colorful stall was the one of Bukovina, represented by Catalina Velniciuc with the Suceava County Council.

"Bukovina came to the fair with Easter and summer offers, many of them from business operators in the tourism sector. Representing Bukovina at the fair are also Tara Dornelor Eco-tourism Association, Suceava Town Hall and a craftsman who makes egg-painting demonstrations. A three-night accommodation package, breakfast, dinner and SPA access included, in a four-star facility in Campulung Moldovenesc costs RON 2250 per person. "

The county of Dambovita is represented at the fair by Georgiana Ungureanu with the Curtea Domneasca Museum Compound in Targoviste.

Georgiana Ungureanu:

"The Dambovita County Council, through the Curtea Domneasca Museum Compound in Targoviste, has come to the fair this year to present the 16 museums in our county. Nine of them are located in the county capital Targoviste. Among them is Curtea Domneasca, the Princely Court monumental ensemble and the Chindia Tower, which also venues the Museum of Printing and Old Romanian Book. As a novelty, we invite tourists to visit the Potlogi Ensemble built in the Brancoveanu style, which has been restored. Towards the mountains, in Vulcana-Pandele, there is the memorial house of artist Gabriel Popescu that is also worth visiting. The museum has a beautiful garden where tourists can take some time to relax."

Szabó Károly is the executive director of the Harghita Intercommunity Development Agency:

"I came here with plenty of offers, from wellness and gastronomy to theme parks. I have brought the best our county has to offer. During the pandemic we launched an initiative called Family-Friendly Harghita. The county is an ideal place for families and we are now licensing tourist units in this respect. We so far have 86 such units, that include guest houses, restaurants, places to visit and services that meet our criteria. All these can also be found the Visit Harghita application. "

Florentina Gheorghita, the head of the Botosani Tourist Information Centre, has also told us about her offer:

"The town of Botosani stands out due to its historical center, known as the Little Leipzig. Many old buildings have been preserved and most of them have been restored. The church where national poet Mihai Eminescu was baptized as well as his birthplace are located in the city center. We now have a project under way aimed at bringing to light the legends of the old center. It is said that the whole town used to be crossed by tunnels and underground cells which connected all houses ever since the Tartar invasion. People used to hide in these cells. With the help of scanners we have found tunnels dug six and eight meters deep. "

(Translation by EN and E. Enache)