Provision for domestic and foreign tourists is assuming a growing importance in socialist countries (POPOV, 1971). Geographers are often involved in planning studies concerned with recreational and tourist facilities but the industry has not usually figured prominently in general regional or economic geographies[ I] . No doubt, inadequate statistical data and terminological difficulties contribute to this, although it is evident that, apart from their relevance to urban patterns, tertiary activities tend to attract less interest than their contribution to total employment would indicate. But there are signs of change, since tourism is now a crucial element in the economy of many districts even where the national strength of the industry islimited. In Bulgaria there is now a chair for the Geography of Tourism in the Science Faculty of Sofia University and in other countries the tourist industry is an important research activity (PONCET, 1976). However, this branch of geography is rather lacking in coherence because of the wide range of relevant themes. Some studies enumerate physical resources and consider problems ofenvironmental protection (AcHMATOWICZ-OTOK, 1974). Others consider the growth of the industry in relation to particular cultural environments: urban regions or remote rural areas (DUKIC, 1971). Then there is the specific question of foreign tourists who merit attention because of their hard currency, but demand a high standard of service (LOSANOF:F, 1968). And finally the comparative aspects requires some attention, relating performance in one country with the situation in neighbouring states (MIKLOS, 1971). This diversity has led one Soviet writer to comment that ‘tourist-related problems have somehow been carved out of the particular disciplines and now require a synthesizing approach to the problem as a whole’ (YEIREMOV, 1975). This paper offers a brief examination of the growth of tourism in Rumania, as an economic activity showing a powerful trace of central planning with a sharp ordering of priorities and as a branch of geography which is gaining prominence in general text books and in research programmes.