Abstract
In the present paper we put forward a clear assessment of the Romanian rural tourism, from a regional perspective. Based on data for 2016, using principal component analysis for mixed data and cluster analysis, we outline an accurate image of the Romanian rural tourism at NUTS level 3, focusing on its main determinants and key regional poles of development. The novelty of the paper lays in developing one of the first composite indices measuring the rural tourism sector, in the Romanian scientific literature, which allows to rank the counties based on their performance and in providing a mapping of rural tourism, highlighting the counties with promising potential for developing activities in this sector. With high practical value, our empirical results may represent an important starting point in developing coherent policies meant at supporting and promoting rural tourism which can become an important generator of wealth and growth in the rural areas of Romania.
Highlights
An important part of Romania’s population lives in the rural area, as revealed by the latest Eurostat regional yearbook, when referring to the share of the total population by degree of urbanization in 2015 (Eurostat, 2017)
Following the approach identified in Andrei et al (2014), in the present paper we aim to provide a clear assessment of the rural tourism in Romania, from a regional perspective, at the level of 2016
We have constructed a potential index, using the method developed by Chavent et al (2017) which combines the principal component analysis (PCA) for numerical data with the multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) for categorical variables, with the purpose of identifying the counties where lies the greatest potential in developing rural tourism
Summary
An important part of Romania’s population (over 40%) lives in the rural area, as revealed by the latest Eurostat regional yearbook, when referring to the share of the total population by degree of urbanization in 2015 (Eurostat, 2017). The same source ranks Romania amid the European Union (EU) members with the highest percentages of population in rural areas, along with Poland, Denmark, Croatia, Latvia, Hungary, Slovenia, Luxembourg, and Lithuania. This aspect usually generates important social and economic challenges at both national and regional levels, especially when considering that the rural area in Romania is not very developed as the ones in the other EU members. Significant consequences are felt at both national and regional levels, in both rural and urban environments
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
