Moldova, together with the other three member states of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM), got the Japanese tour operators’ consent to preparing to receive a large number of tourists from Japan, Info-Prim Neo reports. “It is a project of the GUAM member states aimed at attracting Japanese tourists to the four countries /Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova/. There were created joint tourist routes so that the Japanese tourists can visit them once. There were included facilities that hold increased interest,” director general of the Tourism Agency of Moldova Ludmila Dumitras told a news conference. According to the quoted source, the Japanese side requested that the accommodation facilities should have 4-5 stars. The Tourism Agency of Moldova and the tour operator that is the program’s partner worked out an informative tour for the Japanese travel agencies interested in the Moldovan offer. “The Japanese representatives have positive impressions about Moldova’s offer for tourists. They liked the tourist facilities they visited – monastic complexes and vineries. They inquired about non-renovated facilities with a rich history. They are also satisfied with the level of services provided by our personnel,” said Ludmila Dumitras. GUAM secretary general Valeri Chechelashvili, from Georgia, told the same news conference that the Japanese representatives pointed to the poorly-developed infrastructure in Moldova, especially outside the capital city, the bad roads and the lack of good guides who would speak Japanese. “The Japanese tourist market is very large and, if we manage to attract more Japanese tourists to Moldova and the other members states of GUAM, we have chances to develop local tourism as the tourists from other countries usually follow those from Japan,” Valeri Chechelashvili said. According to the director general of the Tourism Agency, Moldova has five pensions that can provide services of a high quality for foreign tourists.