Moldova and Romania are considering possibilities of launching joint tourism products that will be popular both with the national and foreign tourists. The issue was discussed in an event organized by the Tourism Journalists and Writers Association of Romania, the Union of Professional Newspapermen of Romania and the Ecologist Movement of Moldova. The participants underlined the necessity of improving the legislation on tourism and of adjusting it to the European standards, including as regards the protection of consumers of tourism products, IPN reports.
Deputy director general of the Tourism Agency of Moldova Stanislav Rusu said Moldova has potential in this regard and has interesting places that are worth being visited. Some of the transfrontier tourist circuits could be extended so as to attract a higher number of tourists. Though the number of visits to Moldova has increased during the last few years, Moldova remains one of the least visited countries in Europe.
Mihai Ogrinji, chairman of the Tourism Journalists and Writers Association of Romania, said that Moldova is not very well known by the Romanian public. The beautiful and interesting places in Moldova that can be visited should be promoted among the population.
Vasile Arhire, journalist of Radio Iasi and vice president of the Association of Tourism Journalists of Romania, and representatives of tour operators attending the colloquium said that Moldova needs to improve its infrastructure, including the roads, which represent a barrier to all the forms of tourism, in particular family tourism.
Speaking about the common tourism products that could be launched, George Sorin Nicolescu, vice president of the Chamber of Trade and Industry of Romania, said that these products must transmit the national identity. Only this way can they hold interest for foreign tourists.
Elena Scobioala, of the Ecologist Movement of Moldova, presented the main tourist facilities and routes of Moldova, including the road of the wine that could be extended to become a joint route.
According to the Tourism Agency of Moldova, last year Moldova was visited by about 15,000 foreigners through tourism agencies. Most of these were from Romania. The total number of foreign visitors in Moldova exceeds 2.8 million, one third of which were Romanians.
