Guesthouses in the Danube Delta, up to 95 pct booked for Easter mini-holiday

Booking rates for tourist accommodation establishments in the Danube Delta for the Easter mini-holiday is up to 95%, but some economic agents, especially those whose incomes depended on foreign tourism, claim that, although theoretically they are 100% booked, they practically cannot carry out their activity. The President of the Danube Delta Tourist Destination Management Association (AMDTDD), Catalin Tibuleac, told AGERPRES that, like last year, most tour operators have decided to keep the prices at the 2019 level. The price of an all-inclusive three-night package in a pension in the Danube Delta starts at 800 lei per person and can exceed 2,100 lei per person, depending on the number of stars of the selected accommodation unit. At the same time, some economic agents that promote slow tourism in the Delta, whose income relied exclusively on foreign visitors until the beginning of the pandemic, recall that last year they lost 80% of their business. The president of the Romanian Ecotourism Association (AER), Andrei Blumer, recalled, in his turn, that last year seven ecotourism destinations in the country registered an increase in the number of visitors compared to the previous year, despite the pandemic with the novel coronavirus, and stressed the fact that the way the immunization campaign is unfolding in Romania is an advantage for the local tour operators at international level. AMDTDD organized, between April 19 and 21, in Sfantu Gheorghe, the seminar "DMO [Destination management organizations]- the core of the tourism reform", which was attended by actors from the hospitality industry, political factors and journalists specialized in tourism. "Operators in the field are wondering what they can do for tourists, but I think the question should be what the tourist take with him after leaving the Delta. The book '10 stories and recipes lost through the Delta' is an integrated product, which contains stories of local, fishing and hunting stories, characters we find only here, 100 photos of Valeriu Leonov, lyrics about the Delta by Romania's greatest poets and ten recipes that no one knows about," said journalist Teodor Hossu-Longin , author of the album-book presented on the occasion of this event. British journalist Charlie Ottley also advocated for the preservation of local traditions. I sincerely believe that we need to take a much more serious look at the conservation aspect of this ecosystem, because we have seen many buildings that have risen, of three or four levels, built of non-traditional materials to the Delta, which I do not think can be demolished any longer. At this rate, the beauties of the Delta, its tradition, the old villages will be lost very quickly, believes Charlie Ottley. The event took place in partnership with the County Council and Green Village Resort.AGERPRES(RO - author: Luisiana Bigea, editor: Georgiana Tanasescu; EN - author: Simona Iacob, editor: Maria Voican)