The Economic Contribution of Tourism at Local Level: An Application for Predeal Resort in Roman

Abstract

In many cases, the measurement of the economic effects of tourism is carried out at national but also at regional level using different methods such us Tourism Satellite Accounts, Input –Output analysis, Computable General Equilibrium model, multipliers. However at local level (resort, town, city, and village) mainly due to some methodological difficulties, the application of these methods is severely limited. Under these circumstances the contribution of tourism to local economies may be outlined by the analysis of the existing statistical data at local level. This paper aims such an analysis (based on the existing statistical data) customized for one of the most famous tourist resorts in Romania, Predeal located in Brasov county. Choosing this resort is not accidental: unlike other resorts located on Prahova Valley, Predeal did not benefit from a strong industry in the communist period and not even before, so its economic profile from the historical point of view is almost exclusively based on services, in particular tourism services. A series of statistical indicators that characterize both the Predeal local economy at the sectoral level (number of firms, turnover, average number of employees, labor productivity) and tourism as a distinct activity through specific indicators (the capacity accommodation and food and beverage units, occupancy, number of arrivals, overnight stays, length of stay) will be analyzed. The results obtained show that tourism as an economic activity has a major contribution to the local economy of Predeal.