Romanian Rural Tourism Research Articles

Hedonic Pricing Models in Rural Tourism: Analyzing Factors Influencing Accommodation Pricing in Romania Using Geographically Weighted Regression

This study investigates the factors influencing pricing in Romanian rural tourism using a hedonic pricing model through a hybrid LASSO-OLS regression and geographically weighted regression (GWR). By analyzing data from 5028 unique accommodation units across 1170 local administrative units, we identify some key pricing determinants, including accommodation size, capacity, facilities, and environmental attributes. The results reveal that larger accommodations and those with higher guest capacities command higher prices. Luxurious facilities, such as massage services, pools, and fireplaces, significantly increase pricing, although the impact of such features varies by region, as do accommodation type and natural scenery, with agritouristic boarding houses and proximity to natural attractions like water bodies and forests being more valued in certain regions. These factors can aid rural entrepreneurs in optimizing pricing to enhance competitiveness and profitability.

Rural areas and wine tourism: The case of Romania

"The purpose of the present paper is to provide an integrated approach to the development of wine tourism in Romania’s rural areas. The main research question is: are the communes hosting vineyards and wine-producing facilities and/or cellars/wineries in a better position to attract tourists, compared to the other communes? This question was induced, first, by the fact that Romania is among the top 15 wine pro-ducers worldwide, and some of its wine brands are (well)known at least at the regional level, hence this position might influence Romania as a wine tourism destination. Second, Romanian rural tourism is still in its early stages of development at the national level and therefore a differ¬entiation feature represented by wine-related activities might enhance the attractiveness of a rural destination. Furthermore, wine tourism is a fastly developing trend at the international level and those destinations which have the resources to establish and/or improve wine tourism should take advantage of this trend. The findings of the current paper indicate that wine tourism is poorly developed for the group of wine-producing Romanian rural localities. The extra tourist potential of these localities (represented by vineyards and wineries) is used in an unsatisfactory and inexpertly manner for attracting tourists. The findings are in line with the relatively low level of rural tourism development in Romania presented by other academic works. Keywords: vineyards, wine tourism, rural area, Romania JEL Classification: Z32, L83, C10, R00."

Investigation of Studies on Romanian Rural Tourism with Bibliometric Analysis

Investigation of Studies on Romanian Rural Tourism with Bibliometric Analysis

Factors Influencing the Accommodation Prices of Romanian Rural Tourism

The hedonic pricing model posits that the price of a given product or service is an aggregate of several distinct characteristics that define it. In the context of tourism, this approach can be used to assess the prices of accommodations in a given area or market. This study explores the main determinants of tourism prices in the Brașov area of central Romania, a county that ranked as the second most visited area in Romania in 2021 based on the number of arrivals according to the ordinary least squares regression model on a sample of 398 accommodation units of different types. The main finding of this research paper is that prices are strongly influenced by luxury amenities and that prices tend to rise in lower-population-density areas, which we associate with rural areas. As previously noted in the literature, monetary values can be assigned to incremental changes in the independent variables, with the most significant changes deriving from the inclusion of spa, sauna and restaurant services in the tourism offer of accommodation units.

Revitalizing Rural Tourism through Creative Tourism: the Role and Importance of the Local Community

Abstract Creative tourism is a current topic, yet most of the research is focused on the urban context, with few articles focusing on how creativity can be used and developed in the setting of rural tourism. Furthermore, the theoretical elements identified in this article can become checkpoints through which better strategies for sustainable rural tourism can be developed in the future. Although rich in culture, Romanian villages have not developed their rural tourism offer to its full potential, partly because of the lack of involvement of the local community in long-term tourism planning and development, but also due to the changes in what tourists want from their tourism experience. In response to shifting patterns in consumer behavior, creative tourism has emerged as a better form of cultural tourism, but mostly in urban areas, which has led to a proliferation of creative industries and people within that specific context. The study proposes that most Romanian rural communities in areas pertaining to tourism already have local individuals with some of the characteristics of the creative people necessary for the development of creative tourism. By involving the entire local community in tourism planning, and not just the local actors with direct ties to it, Romanian rural tourism can be revitalized.

Developing rural tourism in the context of sustainable bioeconomy – a Romanian perspective

Abstract Due to the massive urbanization during the second half of the 20th century, rural areas have undergone major structural changes defined by the migration of villagers to cities (implicitly the depopulation of villages), the introduction of new techniques and technologies for working the land and infrastructure developments. In order to call public attention upon these problems and in the attempt to rehabilitate rural areas, more intensive exploitation of tourism resources has taken place. Tourist resources are the elements referring to the social, cultural, historical, human and natural specifics of a country. In rural tourism, travelers take part in the activities, lifestyle and traditions of rural communities, and in this manner they benefit from an entirely personalized experience. They usually rent rural accommodation, which they can combine with rural activities and attractions (recreational and fun). Rural tourism is defined as all rural tourism activities, primarily agrotourism boarding houses and farms, but also small restaurants and hotels or other accommodation. However, there are countries that classify any activity undertaken outside the city as rural tourism. Research in the field of rural tourism development favors the creation of so-called integrated rural tourism (at both the theoretical and practical level) for the exploitation of underdeveloped regions, creating strong links between the social, cultural, economic and environmental resources. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the level of rural tourism in Romania by means of econometric methods and establish means of aligning the Romanian rural tourism product to international standards. One of the main conclusions the present study draws that is tourism is an important economic segment of sustainable development and is also a key component in the formation of the country image at regional and international level.

The Regional Development of the Romanian Rural Tourism Sector

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.

The Romanian Agrotourism Over the Last Two Decades: Good Old Places or New Attractions?

Abstract Tourism represents an important economic activity for most of the countries all around the world. For Romania also, tourism plays an extremely important role in the economic development, contributing with 5.2% to GDP and with more than 500,000 for total employment, according to the 2017 WTTC report. Starting with the year 2000, the Romanian rural tourism and agrotourism, have seen a significant development in terms of infrastructure and services quality, political attention, legislative climate and qualified staff. In order to highlight the dynamics of Romanian agrotourism and to deliver insights about the greatest challenges of this activity in rural areas, the paper investigated the main offer and demand regional indicators of agro-tourist activity in Romania during the period 2000-2016, using the empirical data provided by the National Institute of Statistics.

Romanian Rural Tourism: A Survey of Accommodation Facilities

Urban areas have been long since considered important tourism destinations. By offering a broad and heterogeneous range of attractions, urban tourism provide various choices for different types of tourists and segments of tourism market. Despite being considered an important form of tourism world-wide (Ashworth & Page, 2011), the aggregate volume and value of urban tourism remain unknown at global level (Heeley, 2015). In Romania also, urban tourism is also dominant from tourist arrivals viewpoint. Though, the official documents concerning tourism development in Romania do not include an integrated vision on urban tourism. The present paper discusses the evolution of urban tourism accommodation facilities in Romania's urban areas between 2005 and 2016 at national and regional level and offers a complete picture of urban tourism evolution over a decade. The study includes all the officially registered lodgings, as they appear in the official database offered by the central authority for tourism, including 40 counties and 7 development regions. Furthermore, the survey includes all the types of accommodation facilities registered in urban areas and the whole range of lodging capacities, including the category of 1 to 4 rooms not taken into consideration by the National Institute of Statistics (NIS). The study also provides a profile of the lodging facilities for the Romanian urban localities. The present study complements the previous study of Pop et al. (2017) and use the same structure for presenting the data in order to allow the comparison between urban and rural tourist accommodation facilities development between urban and rural areas in 2005 and 2016.

Is Romanian Rural Tourism Sustainable? Revealing Particularities

Research on sustainable tourism involves developing an appropriate framework to highlight the interdependences of economic, social and environmental systems. The interdependence is based on the entropy of the system while respecting the principle of holism and diversity of rural tourism sustainability. In this context, sustainability in general and rural tourism in particular can be considered a complex system of development, which in some ways can be studied by statistical and econometric methods that allow the analysis of the interdependences between the variables of rural tourism at county level and at the level of rural communities. Conducting such studies involves identifying the rural communities where rural tourism has reached significant levels. Based on this consideration, this paper aims to identify the development regions and counties of Romania where the trends of development of rural tourism are significantly above the average recorded at country level, as a first step towards particular studies of sustainability in rural communities.

Innovation – A Useful Tool in the Rural Tourism in Romania

The tourism industry, especially rural tourism, is largely dominated by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and is often considered less innovative than other industries. The aim of the paper is to give a picture of the innovativeness in the Romanian rural tourism industry. The study analyses product/service and marketing innovation implemented in rural tourism companies. The definitions and the types of innovation considered in the present study are those used in the Community Innovation Survey, conducted by Eurostat. In order to survive in an increasingly competitive and global environment, tourism companies, especially the small ones, must differentiate from the competitors using innovation tools. Innovation in tourism must be seen as a permanent, global and dynamic process.

Identity and sustainable development in rural tourism

There are many studies talking about the anonymity in which our country is sinking, in terms of international tourist identity, of the symbols that define us. We have never known how to promote ourselves using the unique elements that we have and not because we do not have these unique features, but because it is possible that we do not know or we have forgotten what really represents us. There were several initiatives, some of them recent and costly to create and promote a country brand, starting from tourism, but these did not have the expected impact. Why did not have the expected impact? Have we got an element/several elements that may render a sustainable image, not a temporary one, for us and for the Romanian rural tourism? Are the village, the traditions, and the gastronomy authentic elements of tourist identity for the Romanian village as an element within the tourist offer? What symbols, values, ideas, feelings, places, emotions, personalities, food, artistic expressions are by excellence truly Romanian? How many of us recognize them? These are only a couple of the many questions we try to answer, not desperately, but with the interest of the person who is not only in love with tourism, its values, with its message over time. The article tries to underline the role of identity in the promotion of a tourist product, the Romanian village, a valuable treasure up to the present based on an adequate methodology of the tourism geography research (questionnaires, diagnosis, analytical prospecting, etc.).

Use Rare Breed for Genuine Foods in Romanian Rural Tourism and Possibility of Traceability the Traditional Products

The specific of the touristic product and its quality depend to a large extent on the professional ability of the service staff (kindness, solitude, punctuality, promptness). Aspects related to professional ethics (correctitude, trust, honesty) are seen by the consumer as inseparable from the quality of a service. At the same time, tourist's perception on the quality of the received service depends on the level of performers' involvement. Actually, in rural tourism, at boarding houses and agro tourist farms, the staff is interested in bringing more tourists, their offer being characterized by a thorough competition. Agro tourist boarding houses offer a wide range of accommodation places and natural food products from their own households. Each agro tourist region has its own specific features that are, the building style, comfort, and traditional kitchen. The National Office of Traditional Products protect the name of traditional products to avoid bad competition between producers who made same product with same geographical name but in different zone. The quality of services provided to native tourists by the boarding house or agro tourist firm staff finds itself in an interdependent relation with ecological food products. The analysis based on microsatellite data has demonstrated the possibility to genetically characterize the breeds studied and to distinguish the origin of animals. The incorrect labeling of foods represents a commercial fraud. It is very important to establish that species of high commercial value declared are not substitute, partial or entirely, by other lower value species.

THE RURAL TOURISM AND AGRO-TOURISM DURING 2001-2006

Concerning the actual size of the Romanian rural tourism and agro-tourism we can notice the fact that in the present days only about 8% of the country population uses touring services compared to 88% in Sweden, about 76% in Austria, 69% in Belgium, 68% in France, 48% in Poland, 35% in Slovakia and 20% in Hungary. Almost 37% of the Romanian population does not use any touring services because of the financial situation.

Romanian Rural Tourism

Romanian Rural Tourism