AER: Romania promoted to British tourists under Discover Eco-Romania brand

The Romanian Association of Ecotourism (AER) is promoting Romanian ecotourism destinations at the "Destinations" tourism fair in London, under the Discover Eco-Romania brand, reads a release of the organisation on Saturday sent to AGERPRES.

"The Romanian Ecotourism Association in 2019 managed to bring Romania to the attention of the British public through the promotion of the Discover Eco-Romania brand. There are nine ecotourism destinations available, with 37 companies launching the invitation to Discover Eco-Romania to the British public, at the AER stand in London, over January 31 - February 3 2019," reads the AER release.

Thus, more than 80,000 visitors will see, discuss and read about the "beautiful and ecotourism" Romania.

"We are thus projecting a real image of a special part of Romania. Our desire is to attract tourists to the destinations that we develop in harmony with the locals and the local nature. The businesses that we promote propose a tourism product of an exceptional quality, and also a special responsibility for the natural and social environment. These are experts that are very much in demand with the British public and not only, for there is an increasing interest on this side of the world in activities that are carried out in nature and in the rural areas," stated Bogdan Papuc, AER manager.

The AER chairman, Andrei Blumer, says that ecotourism is a niche of the international tourism and Romania is one of the main pillars when it comes to the development of numerous areas, but also due to the projection of an extremely attractive image, in general, of our country.

"Thus, we decided not to wait anymore and to take our destiny in our own hands and starting last year we took our own stand to the big fairs, general fairs - Berlin (ITB 2018), Oslo (Reiseliv, 2019), and also fairs specialized in certain market segments to attract the right tourists - Vienna (Photo-Adventure 2017 and 2018), Amsterdam (Fair for Special Journey 2019), London (Destinations 2016-2019). Of course that we would like a professionalisation of the entire marketing policy of Romania and that the Ministry of Tourism, and also the business environment, would constantly support the ecotourism sector, for our direct experience of more than 15 years on the Western markets tells us Romania's attractiveness in the global context is increasing", explained Andrei Blumer.

The nine ecotourism destinations promoted by AER in 2019 under the "Discover Eco-Romania" brand are Tara Hategului - Retezat, Tara Dornelor, Eco-Maramures, Padurea Craiului - Apuseni, Tinutul Zimbrului - Neamt, Colinele Transilvaniei, Baile Tusnad and the surrounding area, the Danube Delta, Piatra Craiului - Brasov.

"Romania is among the first countries in the world with a standard for the evaluation of ecotourism destinations adjusted to the criteria of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and managed by the Ministry of Tourism. Moreover, AER implements the Eco-Romania system of certification in ecotourism for tourist programmes and accommodation units," reads the release.

AER's mission is to promote and develop ecotourism to contribute to the preservation of nature and support the local communities in the areas with a natural value. The Association contributes to the increase in quality of the ecotourism services and promotes nature as an essential element of Romania's tourist image. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniel Alexandru Florea, editor: Marius Fratila; EN - author/editor: Cristina Zaharia)