Moldovan tourists do not hurry to make reservations for summer vacation

The number of visitors is low and they do not express great interest, said representatives of the travel agencies that displayed their offers at the sixteenth international exhibition “Tourism. Leisure. Hotels" housed by Moldexpo. At the same time, many of the visitors went home without reservations, saying the offer is poor and the prices are high. “We have many reasonable offers for those who want to spend the leave or weekends outside Moldova. We give discounts of up to 30% to persons who make reservations for the summer season now. The discounts apply to the neighboring Romania and Ukraine and other destinations like Bulgaria, France, Greece, and Turkey,” Lidia Oprea, consultant of a travel agency, has told Info-Prim Neo. The woman said that despite the advantageous offers, the visitors do not hurry to make reservations for the summer vacation. “It is probably the period of the Easter holidays or the financial crisis is to blame,” said Lidia Oprea. The visitors inquire both about the tourist package and the price. They choose mainly packages of €200 per person, said Irina Ciobanu, manager of a travel company. “The people usually prefer the neighboring countries, but there are also persons who inquired about the offers of up to €1,000. The people express interest in the ordinary destinations as well, but have specific demands,” she added. Visitor Aliona Staver stated for Info-Prim Neo that the offer is poorer compared with the previous years, but the prices are high for most of the tourists. “The prices of our travel agencies are twice higher than the costs incurred when going at one’s own expense,” she said. The exhibit “Tourism. Leisure. Hotels" brought together over 40 travel agencies and airlines. It took place between April 14 and 16. According to the National Travel Agency, tourism in Moldova accounts for 1% of the GDP. In 2010, the share of foreign tourism rose by 25.6%, while of internal tourism fell by 2.5% compared with 2009.