With good and bad moments, the year 2017 is coming to and the time is now inopportune to sum up. On this occasion, IPN gathered good thoughts, this time only good ones, from those who take decisions and from those for whom the decisions are taken. What good things did 2017 bring? This is the question that we put to those who accepted to be near us in our wish to find what’s good in the things around us and in the events that mark us. Even if many times things do not go as we want, it is the man and society that can see an additional opportunity to become involved and change things to be better even in problems and worse things that stand to gain. For each of the raised subjects, we provide a number of rankings that show the position of those that compiled them. Below you can see the accomplishments of 2017 in the tourism sector.
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Rankings by Tourism Agency of the Republic of Moldova:

1. During June 5-7, 2017, Chisinau hosted the 61th Meeting of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Regional Commission for Europe.

“In the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly, 2017 was declared the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. Thus, different activities and festivities designed to support the program of action of the International Year were launched under the aegis of the World Trade Organization all over the world. The meeting of the UNWTO Regional Commission for Europe forms part of the 14 official events included in the calendar of events staged on the occasion of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development. For the Republic of Moldova, this event was the first of the kind and involved the UNWTO Secretary General and over 40 ministers and managers of tourism authorities of Europe, who could familiarize themselves with the tourist attractions of Moldova. The event held successfully in Chisinau was highly appreciated and was widely disseminated by the international media with the support of CNN International, assuring a positive impact on the development of Moldovan tourism, Moldova being promoted as an attractive and impressing European destination.

2. Moldova’s nomination as the World Capital of Wine Tourism in 2018 in connection with the hosting by Moldova of the third Global Conference on Wine Tourism in the autumn of 2018.

“Moldova’s opponents in hosting the conference included such titans in wine industry as Spain, Portugal and the South African Republic. However, as a result of the successful organization of the 61th Meeting of the UNWTO Regional Commission for Europe on June 5-7 in Chisinau, where all the delegates could discover the unique wine heritage and the impressive landscape and cultural heritage of the Republic of Moldova, which deserves to be promoted worldwide, the WTO administration’s decision on the hosting of the 2018 edition of the Global Conference on Wine Tourism was in Moldova’s favor. The decision can be definitely considered a real victory for the Republic of Moldova, in general, and of the Moldovan wine tourism, in particular. In his connection, the Tourism Agency launched the promotion campaign “Year 2018: Republic of Moldova – World Capital of Wine Tourism”, which is successful at International Tourism Exhibitions. There was also designed the first and only Moldovan wine tourism promotion video and launched the mobile application “Moldova Wine Route” that will guide tourists and will facilitate access to wineries and will also provide useful information, such as curiosities, about the 12 national wineries that are considered the most representative from touristic viewpoint.”

3. The Republic of Moldova was included in the international tourism rankings.

“During the last few years, the Republic of Moldova turned into an attractive tourist destination. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of Moldova, the indicators in the tourism industry have expended. The Republic of Moldova was ranked fifth in the world by the fastest growing increase in tourist arrivals. In 2013, the most popular tourist guide Lonely Planet classed Moldova as the least visited country in Europe, while in 2017 the country was included in the rankings of the best ten destinations to visit in summer.”

4. Abolition of the visa regime with such countries as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait; facilitation of the visa regime for the citizens of the People’s Republic of China.

5. Holding of the first International Hotel Business Forum in Chisinau in May 2017 and launch of the first Catalog “Best Hotels Moldova”.

6. Subsidization of the agritourism with 20 million lei as of 2017; reduction in the number of permissive documents for launching tourist activity (exclusion of tourism license and mandatory classification of accommodation facilities with up to ten rooms).

Rankings by Tourism Development Agency of Moldova:

1. Higher number of visitors to the Republic of Moldova – over 3 million foreign visitors.

2. Stopping of a draft law on restrictive tourism.

3. Opening of tourist information centers, including in museums, in Soroca, Criva, Cotova, Edinet, Valeni, Popeasca, Magura, Cosauti.

4. Building of tourist pensions for diversifying the offer in renowned destinations, in Trebujeni, Butuceni, Lalova.

5. Working out of two tourist guides for the districts of Soroca and Stefan Voda.

Other articles of the series “What good things did 2017 bring in...”:

Ce a adus bun anul 2017 în procesul de reglementare transnistreană. Campanie IPN
Ce a adus bun anul 2017 în domeniul educației. Campanie IPN