Tourism In Romania – What Deserves To Be Saved And What Not

We live in a time when everything around us is uncertain, let alone our travel plans. We don’t know yet how this pandemic is going to affect our future lives, how and under what conditions we’ll be able to travel again. What we do know is that things have come to a point where they simply must change, as the pre-pandemic trends of the travel industry were leading us towards self-destruction. Pollution, animal cruelty, child labour, bribery & corruption are all consequences of mass global tourism and it’s a good thing they’re dying.

So why do we travel? Because it shows us we’re not alone, it shows us that a person from the other side of the globe, speaking a different language and believing in a different god can be exactly like us, can feel the same joy when looking at something beautiful and can feel the same pain when hurt. Travel opens our minds, connects us in ways we never thought possible.

When travelling in my own country, Romania, a different part of my brain gets wired. I know people who travel the world and pay small fortunes to be able to experience peacefulness, unspoiled nature, authenticity and amazing food, while I can do it right here, in my backyard.  And all I can think about is doing it again!

What can we do to help the good parts of tourism survive?

Working as a travel agent, I know personally at least a dozen properties that probably won’t survive summer. Behind every nice picture of a restored peasant house or elegant mansion there’s a real person with a real family, a real mortgage, and a real community who relies financially on the travelers it attracts. Because this is what we promote as a company and what we stand for – responsible travel, in which all the money stays into the local communities, into small and medium social enterprises.

Being now a witness to their struggle breaks my heart into a million pieces, as I know how much they sacrificed to see their dream come true, and how many souls they brightened over the years with what they’d accomplished, with the small piece of heaven they’d built.

So what can we do to help?

Let’s pay close attention to who our money helps revive when the time comes. Let’s search for someone who’s truly worth it, someone who’s doing this based on a calling and not looking to get rich fast; someone who will keep the money into their own community, who is helping the locals thrive along with them; someone who is adding value to Romanian tourism, someone who has the courage to be original, to be authentic, to be proud of their own heritage; someone who doesn’t make any compromises, someone who doesn’t take shortcuts; someone who respects the customer but, most importantly, someone with a story to tell.

Do you know a place run by someone like this? Let us know and we’ll make sure to put it on our Romanian bucket list once the restrictions are lifted.

If you don’t know what kind of accommodation options you can find in Romania, let me show you some of the best ones! Let me show you how beautiful the Romanian village can be, how kind and cheerful the people are, and how rewarding peace of mind really is.

We have a list with properties and things to do in every region of Romania, so write to me and I’ll send you my recommendations and contact details, free of charge. 

Let’s reset the way we consume, especially the way we travel. Let “responsible” be not just a fancy word we use when we want to impress. Let us build the steps to a new way of travel in which “sustainability” is the norm, and let’s do it together this time – you as the traveler and us as your advisers.