Ecotourism in Romania
..., Austria and Belgium. During the eighties, quality of tourist accommodation was not maintained, with a resultant decline in the number of foreign tourists. During the past ten years, Romania has experienced: A 20% decline in the number of foreign tourists arriving, from 6.5 million to 5.2 million since 1990; A 14% drop in total number of beds in hotels and accommodation facilities, from 328,000 in 1990 to 283,000 in 1999; A drop in the accommodation occupancy rate from 57.8% to 34.5%; A reduction in the length of stays in accommodation by 61% for Romanian tourists and 53% for foreign tourists. The national and regional transportation infrastructure is inadequate and represents the main obstacle to the development of the tourism sector. Marketing needs to be upgraded, especially with American and European tour operators, and overall service quality needs to be competitive with other European resorts. Romania’s receipts from international tourism estimated at $490 million. The foreign exchange receipts of Romania from international tourism rose to $490 million in 2001. This is $71 million over the receipts of the previous year, according to the estimates made by the National Institute of Research - Development in Tourism (INCDT), based on the performances of the first 10 months of the year. The number of people who visited Romania last year for exclusively tourism purposes was anticipated at 970,000. The direct receipts registered by hotels amounted to $325 million in 2001, compared with $271.3 million in the previous year. The commission related to contract - based tourism (through tourism agencies) was estimated at $20 million, against $17.4 million in 2000. The foreign currency exchange related to international tourism amounts, according to the same estimates, to around $145 million, compared to $130 million in 2000. In 2000, the average amount cashed per tourist in the accommodation entities (commission included) was $333, while the average receipt/day/tourist was $196. Cultural Conflicts Conflicts exist at all levels, within and between individuals, communities, countries and cultures. Conflicts are natural. They are experienced by people of every background, culture, class, nationality, age, and gender every single day. What is important is not whether conflicts themselves are good or bad, but how we wish to deal with them. National and ethnic tolerance is an aspiration of many Balkan nations. Historically, the region has been subject to intensely felt national and ethnic pride emanating from the numerous ethnic groups living in close proximity to each other, exaggerating their differences and claiming indigenous rights to the same areas of land. Romania has not escaped these tensions. With large Hungarian, German and Gypsy minorities, Romania has faced her own ethnic problems. In Transylvania live about 1.6 million Hungarians, making up 8% of Romania’s population. However, since the onset of the Kosovo conflict, Romania has frequently been referred to as a country that knows how to treat her ethnic minorities: a prime example for her Serb neighbors to follow. On a political and economic level Romania is attempting to alleviate ethnic rivalries. However, socially, ethnicity is becoming less important for the Hungarians and Romanians of Transylvania. A new generation with a limited experience of Communism is taking a more liberal stance. As one ethnic Hungarian graduate, Janos Orban, put it: "We are not interested in the nationalist debate, we are Transylvanians, we've always mixed cultures here." Some Critics argue that a "Transylvanian identity" is developing. This may help to explain why there was no escalation of violent ethnic conflict in Transylvania. The notion assumes that all nationalities living in Transylvania - Romanians, Hungarians and Germans - have more in common than distinctive features in their present perception of their civilization and behavior. In other words, they form an in-group with other Transylvanians, regardless of their ethnic origin. The collapse of Communism brought with it uncertainty and confusion. In Yugoslavia nationalism became the motivating force for unifying the nation. In Romania, motivation emanated from the desire to integrate with the Euro-Atlantic institutions, to create a stable and secure environment. This necessitated cooperation. Violent conflict has not escalated in Romania but ethnic differences do remain despite the idea of a developing Transylvanian identity. As long as distinctions are made between ethnic groups there is always a possibility that violence will erupt. Sensitive Natural Areas and Ways to Minimize Damage One of the last remaining true wilderness areas in Europe is found amongst the peaks and ancient forests of the Carpathian Mountains in central Romania. For centuries the people here have farmed the mountain pastures and harvested the produce of the forest, existing in finely-balanced harmony with a rich variety of rare wildlife. This area of wild and undeveloped habitat is home to Europe's highest concentration of bears, wolves and lynx, but there is increasing economic pressure for change. Tourist activities here are designed to support a conservation initiative backed by the World Wildlife Fund. The Carpathian Large Carnivore Project has established the eco-tourism programme "Wolves and Bears in Transylvania" as a first step towards making the conservation of bears, wolves and lynx economically profitable for local people. This project passes the benefits of a developing tourism industry to the local population, giving them an incentive to preserve the wilderness areas and at the same time promoting sustainable economic activity to the benefit of the local community. Although rich in biological resources and important as a corridor for the movement of species, Romania resented the consequence of human activity. Pollution, river damming, hydro technical works, industrial agriculture, the overexploitation of natural resources, among other factors, have each had their particular role in decreasing the biodiversity. Taking into account these particularly significant problems, Romania has an active governmental and non-governmental commitment to reverse the trends of biodiversity loss. A National Strategy and Action Plan for biological diversity conservation and sustainable use of its components, both of which integrate the principles and ob...