In the context of a global economy, the sustainable development strategy of Romania must emphasize the catalyst factors of economic and social change, in order to promote economic growth. At the same time, the strategy must be sufficiently flexible for the adaptation to shocks and change processes. The complex of negative factors (the status of the infrastructure, the outdated mentalities, the poor professional training, the long economic crisis, etc.), to which we may add a certain inertia or/and superficiality of some local public administrations regarding the meaning and the definition of local development of tourism, explains the difficulties dealt with by this sector, so dependent on the general status of the national economy. That is why the existence of a national program for the regional development of sustainable tourism is of maximum importance, being identified firstly with the priority objectives of some less evolved areas, which would revive their economy. In this context, the "Strategy of the European Union for the Danube Region" is beneficial for the Iron Gates Region - tourist micro-destination, representing a multinational program through which the European Community has proposed to reduce the delays - firstly economic - between the countries located on the superior course of the old river as well as of those located on its inferior course.