Moldovan Village Echoes to Sound of Strauss

An 80-year old woman, her head covered by a black kerchief, and directs guests to the main road of the village, where little traditional cottages are scattered on both sides.

"There … on the left, you can find the owner of these houses," the old woman tells us with a nod, in a hoarse but soft voice. "I never thought that I'd hear so many foreign languages on these dusty footpaths," she adds. "Sometimes I get the feeling like are in the Tower of Babel!" she laughs. 

A local man drives a cart of oxen in Butuceni village in Orhei district, north of Chisinau, Moldova, April 29, 2018. Photo: EPA/Doru Dumitru

Tourism in this village may be booming but rural tourism in Moldova generally is only starting to reach its huge potential.

Official data show that in 2018, rural guesthouses in Moldova had a capacity of only about 6,000 rooms, though the real number is probably higher.

That year, about 150,000 tourists were registered in total in Moldova, 90,000 of whom were foreigners, a growing number of whom are coming to sample rural life in this off-the-beaten-track country.

A traditional house in Butuceni village waiting for its guests. Photo: Eco Resort/Facebook

Ambitious businessman had a dream:

The story of how Butuceni made its way to the top rural tourism in Moldova started 15 years ago, in 2004. That was when Anatol Botnaru dreamed a dream of bringing tourists to stay in the same traditional villages where he had spent his childhood. 

His inspiration came partly from Romania, where he first saw this type of business flourishing. "I had visited some guesthouses in Romania, but I wanted something more domestic, more rustic, to distinguish us from the hotel side of...