Trends of Tourist Demand in Romania. Positioning of Rural Tourists Among the Tourist Preferences

Rural tourism in Romania has significant potential, acknowledged both internally and internationally. Keeping up old customs in villages, including in regard to the daily life, existence of remarkably beautiful landscapes, as well as the promoting in the foreign press, create the premises required for the take-off of the activities specific to the rural area among the domestic tourists.Considering the resources at the disposal of the Romanian villages and assuming that modern people are more and more interested in returning to nature, for disconnecting from the job-related stress, the author wanted to find out what is the position of this type of tourism among the tourist demand. After carrying out an administered questionnaire-based quantitative survey, the results showed that the preferences concerning the place of spending the holiday are the seaside and the mountains, while the rural areas are considered as the main option in 2% of the cases. However, the tourist profile that arises from the research shows that there is a base from which the rural tourism can progress in the medium and short-term preferences, as the respondents reveal a significant preference over the elements of the rural tourist offer.

Keywords

Rural tourism, tourist demand, tourist demand trend, tourism in Romania, tourist profile

JEL Classification

L83

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