THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON ROMANIA'S TOURIST FLOWS IN THE YEAR 2020

ABSTRACT

The paper aimed to analyze in what measure the Covid-19 pandemic has influenced tourist flows in Romania's tourism in the year 2020 comparatively with the year 2019 and the 2020 forecast. The main indicators taken into consideration have been tourist arrivals, overnight stays and travels abroad. The data provided by the National Institute of Statistics have been processed using the annual average growth for setting up the 2020 forecast, and the index method allowed to quantify the percentage differences carried out in 2020 versus 2019 and the forecast level. In 2020, in Romania, tourism arrivals declined by 53%, but less compared to Europe 70 % or 74% at the global level. Romanians represents 93% of total arrivals, but their number decreased by 45% compared to 2019. Also, overnight stays declined by 51.65% and the residents' travels abroad by 58.8%. A critical situation was in case of foreign tourists' flow which diminished by 83.2% and the number of overnight stays by 81.1%. The most difficult period for tourism in the year 2020 was March-June, but in July-September, it was noticed a recovery. However, tourism industry was also affected regarding its receipts, turnover, personnel, and tourism units, many of them being closed and a few of them failed due to the imposed restrictions by authorities to diminish the spread of the pandemic. Romanians saved tourism rediscovering the beauty of the natural, cultural and historical treasures of their own country, spending their vacations at the seaside, in the mountains and in the rural areas, and, in general, preferring accommodation in small hotels and tourist and agri-tourist guesthouses. Rural tourism was a niche which offered safer stays, more activities in nature and benefiting of hospitality suitable for families and small groups of friends. Romania's tourism has to be more flexible in the year 2021 and the coming years in adapting the development strategy paying attention to the increased demand for domestic tourism including offers and experiences in open-air, nature-based and slow travel destinations. At international level Romania has to be promoted as a rural destination which is able to offer a high quality hospitality and the beauty of the country.