Developing an Indicator-Based Framework to Measure Sustainable Tourism in Romania. A Territorial Approach

Nicoleta Damian,Bianca Mitrică,Paul-Răzvan Şerban,Monica Dumitraşcu,Cristina Dumitrică,Irena Mocanu,Ines Grigorescu

doi:10.3390/su13052649

Abstract

Sustainable tourism is gaining importance in national agendas to encourage economic growth, social inclusion, and the protection of cultural and natural assets. More than 13 million tourists (10.6 mil. Romanians and 2.6 mil. foreigners) visited Romania in 2019, the fifth consecutive year of growth for the tourism sector. The authors have selected 10 statistical indicators to highlight the main components for tourism sustainability by using the principal component analysis (PCA). The current patterns of sustainable development of tourism and the territorial inequalities at a micro-scale were assessed based on a sustainable tourism index (STI). In addition, to observe the way indicators interact and determine each other and to analyze the territorial disparities, the hierarchical ascending classification was used. The study was performed using the statistical data available at NUTS5/LAU level provided by the National Institute of Statistics. In addition, various data and information extracted from documents published by the UNWTO, National Institute for Research and Development in Tourism, the World Bank, EUROSTAT, etc., were also used. By applying an STI, the authors were able to assess the tourism development level at a national scale in Romania, delineating the most advantaged/disadvantaged areas. The analysis of sustainable tourism in Romania shows that tourism performance is more consolidated in the big cities, the Black Sea coast, the Danube Delta and the Carpathian Mountains. Studies such as the present one are meant to provide a methodological framework that will be useful to perform a quantitative assessment of the sustainable level of tourism development in terms of economic, social and environmental performance.

Highlights

More than 1.5 billion international tourists were recorded in 2019, the ninth consecutive year of growth for the tourism sector and a four percent increase on the previous year.The United Nation World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) forecasts that this figure will grow to 1.8 billion by 2030, heightening the collective need to ensure that growth and sustainability go hand-in-hand in the tourism sector [1]
Within the EU-28 states, tourism is generally seen as a convergence factor, one of the foremost economic growth sectors [6], sustainable tourism becoming an central part of tourism planning and management [3]
In order to observe the way in which the 10 indicators interact and determine each other, we propose the use of a methodology that would give us the possibility to visualize the whole table of indicators without uniting them in an index

Summary

Introduction

More than 1.5 billion international tourists were recorded in 2019, the ninth consecutive year of growth for the tourism sector and a four percent increase on the previous year. 2007–2026 at at thethe initiative of the immediate objective of this document is to create a general framework of policies for the sustainable development and management of the tourism industry regarding natural and cultural resources. The success of the tourism sustainable development depends on the attractive landscape and the tourist facilities and on the competitiveness and quality of services The vision of this strategic document is to transform Romania into an excellent tourist destination based on its natural and cultural heritage, corresponding to European Union standards regarding the supply of products and services and the achievement of the environmentally sustainable development of the tourism sector [51]. In order to achieve this goal and its orientation towards a sustainable direction, financing mechanisms and programs for the conservation of biodiversity must be developed, the revision of the legislative instruments related to this field, awareness among the factors involved, education at the local level with the aim of orienting towards the principles of sustainable thinking and strengthening institutional capacity to implement environmental legislation [52]

Data and Methodology

10. Population

Results

Discussions

Conclusions