GREAT EXPECTATIONS FOR TOURISM AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN ROMANIA: WHY ARE NOT THEY MET?

Tudorel ANDREI
The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, 6, Romana Square, district 1, Bucharest, postal code: 010374, postal office 22, Romania, Phone: +4.021.319.19.00, Fax: +4.021.319.18.99
andreitudorel@ase.ro

Constantin MITRUT
The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, 6, Romana Square, district 1, Bucharest, postal code: 010374, postal office 22, Romania, Phone: +4.021.319.19.00; Fax: +4.021.319.18.99
cmitrut@ase.ro

Daniela-Luminita CONSTANTIN
The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, 6, Romana Square, district 1, Bucharest, postal code: 010374, postal office 22, Romania, Phone: +4.021.319.19.00; Fax: +4.021.319.18.99
danielaconstantin_2005@yahoo.com

Bogdan OANCEA
“Nicolae Titulescu” University,Calea Văcăreşti, Nr. 185, Sector 4, postal code 040051, Bucharest, Romania, Phone: +4.021.330.90.32, Fax: +4.021.330.86.06
bogdanoancea@univnt.ro
(corresponding author)

Abstract
Despite the high potential of the Romanian tourism competitiveness and reducing interregional disparities, the results obtained in the last fifteen-twenty years are far below expectations. This paper aims to identify national and regional characteristics of tourism in Romania during the period 1990 to 2010 and to evaluate the most important factors that influenced foreign tourists’ arrivals in Romania and the departures of Romanian tourists abroad. As infrastructure is one of the main obstacles to tourism development we have used data from development regions in order to explore the changes in the concentration of accommodation capacities. We have developed econometric models estimated on panel data to assess the implications of road infrastructure development and accommodation capacity utilization on economic results of tourism. The results indicate the important relationship between the territorial distribution of road infrastructure and the concentration of accommodation capacity.

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