Radio România Internațional

Tag: rural tourism

  • Rural Tourism in Romania

    Rural Tourism in Romania

    Rural tourism has seen an impressive development in Romania, in the past few years. Visitors are invited into a world of scenic landscapes and unaltered traditions, where craftsmen can do wonders and where guesthouses offer the tastiest dishes made after ancient recipes. Maria Stoian, founder of the National Association of Rural, Ecological and Cultural Tourism, believes that tourists who visit the Romanian rural area have the chance of getting to know the real Romania.



    Maria Stoian: “Visiting the country’s rural areas is a chance to understand the roots of this people and get to know the true Romanians. Tourists can learn about Romanian gastronomy, which is so varied. They can see the source of inspiration for folk architecture, and also a variety of folk customs and traditions. In Marginimea Sibiului there are some very beautiful villages, and the local cuisine is amazing. In northern Oltenia there are special monasteries and also opportunities for active tourism, on Sohodol Gorges and the Oltet Valley. From northern Oltenia we head towards the Danube Gorge. Few people know that nautical tourism can be practiced here and that there are water bungalows available to tourists. The area has great potential. Bran Moeciu is the cradle of Romanian rural tourism. Also, the Curvature Carpathians and the Vrancea-Buzau area with its wine route are also worth visiting.”



    Perspectives for 2018 are very good, says Maria Stoian: “Romanians are more and more interested in domestic tourist destinations, including rural tourism and the same tendency has been noticed among foreign tourists. Except for our regular tourists from France, Germany, Italy and Israel, visitors from the Nordic countries have also started to show special interest in Romania. Romanians from the Diaspora represent another tourist segment. They are not only visiting their families but also various regions from their native country. I remember a family from France who was interested in rural tourism but had many reservations and questions about it. A year later it was them who recommended all their friends and relatives to visit Romania’s rural area.”



    Romanian villages and communes are also promoted through a large variety of events, with free of charge access. Maria Stoian: “We have many events scheduled for this year. Balvanyos, in the central county of Covasna, is host to the Pomana Porcului Festival, attended by teams from several counties of Romania and also from Slovakia, Hungary and other countries in the region. There is also the Pies Festival in Oituz, the Meat Jelly Festival held in Tismana, Gorj county and the Sheep and Shepherds’ Festival held in Bran, Brasov county. Fundata, the commune with the highest elevation in Brasov county, hosts an event devoted to shepherds. Visitors are welcome to Romania’s villages that have preserved traditions intact and that can also provide good accommodation conditions.



    Maramureş, in northern Romania, one of the regions where rural tourism is very developed, boasts many guesthouses. Dan Carpov is the representative of the tourist information office of Maramureş County: “In 2018 Romania celebrates 100 years since the union of the Romanian principalities, consequently tourist circuits will include stopovers at the memorial houses of some of the outstanding personalities of the county. Maramureş is a wide county, including 4 regions: the Country of Lăpuş, the Country of Maramureş, located in the northeastern half of the historical region of Maramureş, the Country of Chioar and the Country of Codru. Customs and traditions have been well preserved in all theses areas just like the traditional costume. “



    As for the tourists’ feedback , Dan Carpov says is is always positive: “Tourists’ feedback is very good, we are at the top of preferences, which makes us improve our offer continuously and do our best to live up to the expectations. Mocăniţa, the narrow gauge steam train is the top tourist attraction for tourists. On tourists’ list of preferences are also the 8 UNESCO sites in the county and we have a circuit that includes all of them. Mountain tourism has been developing recently. We have a biking route that is 80-km long.”



    Many of Romania’s guesthouses provide home cooked meals to tourists and organize trips to the areas nearby.

  • Rural Tourism in Romania

    Rural Tourism in Romania

    Rural tourism has seen an impressive development in Romania, in the past few years. Visitors are invited into a world of scenic landscapes and unaltered traditions, where craftsmen can do wonders and where guesthouses offer the tastiest dishes made after ancient recipes. Maria Stoian, founder of the National Association of Rural, Ecological and Cultural Tourism, believes that tourists who visit the Romanian rural area have the chance of getting to know the real Romania.



    Maria Stoian: “Visiting the country’s rural areas is a chance to understand the roots of this people and get to know the true Romanians. Tourists can learn about Romanian gastronomy, which is so varied. They can see the source of inspiration for folk architecture, and also a variety of folk customs and traditions. In Marginimea Sibiului there are some very beautiful villages, and the local cuisine is amazing. In northern Oltenia there are special monasteries and also opportunities for active tourism, on Sohodol Gorges and the Oltet Valley. From northern Oltenia we head towards the Danube Gorge. Few people know that nautical tourism can be practiced here and that there are water bungalows available to tourists. The area has great potential. Bran Moeciu is the cradle of Romanian rural tourism. Also, the Curvature Carpathians and the Vrancea-Buzau area with its wine route are also worth visiting.”



    Perspectives for 2018 are very good, says Maria Stoian: “Romanians are more and more interested in domestic tourist destinations, including rural tourism and the same tendency has been noticed among foreign tourists. Except for our regular tourists from France, Germany, Italy and Israel, visitors from the Nordic countries have also started to show special interest in Romania. Romanians from the Diaspora represent another tourist segment. They are not only visiting their families but also various regions from their native country. I remember a family from France who was interested in rural tourism but had many reservations and questions about it. A year later it was them who recommended all their friends and relatives to visit Romania’s rural area.”



    Romanian villages and communes are also promoted through a large variety of events, with free of charge access. Maria Stoian: “We have many events scheduled for this year. Balvanyos, in the central county of Covasna, is host to the Pomana Porcului Festival, attended by teams from several counties of Romania and also from Slovakia, Hungary and other countries in the region. There is also the Pies Festival in Oituz, the Meat Jelly Festival held in Tismana, Gorj county and the Sheep and Shepherds’ Festival held in Bran, Brasov county. Fundata, the commune with the highest elevation in Brasov county, hosts an event devoted to shepherds. Visitors are welcome to Romania’s villages that have preserved traditions intact and that can also provide good accommodation conditions.



    Maramureş, in northern Romania, one of the regions where rural tourism is very developed, boasts many guesthouses. Dan Carpov is the representative of the tourist information office of Maramureş County: “In 2018 Romania celebrates 100 years since the union of the Romanian principalities, consequently tourist circuits will include stopovers at the memorial houses of some of the outstanding personalities of the county. Maramureş is a wide county, including 4 regions: the Country of Lăpuş, the Country of Maramureş, located in the northeastern half of the historical region of Maramureş, the Country of Chioar and the Country of Codru. Customs and traditions have been well preserved in all theses areas just like the traditional costume. “



    As for the tourists’ feedback , Dan Carpov says is is always positive: “Tourists’ feedback is very good, we are at the top of preferences, which makes us improve our offer continuously and do our best to live up to the expectations. Mocăniţa, the narrow gauge steam train is the top tourist attraction for tourists. On tourists’ list of preferences are also the 8 UNESCO sites in the county and we have a circuit that includes all of them. Mountain tourism has been developing recently. We have a biking route that is 80-km long.”



    Many of Romania’s guesthouses provide home cooked meals to tourists and organize trips to the areas nearby.

  • Holidays in the Countryside

    Holidays in the Countryside

    The tourists who want to take a break from the hectic city life benefit from special accommodation fees in countryside guesthouses over September and October this year. Holidays in the Countryside is a programme run by the National Association for Rural, Cultural and Sustainable Tourism. The program is drawing to a close, but its offers are still available for a couple of weeks. So today we will be speaking about how successful the Holidays in the Countryside programme has been, and about accommodation offers in Romanian villages for the winter holidays season.



    The Holidays in the Countryside programme has now reached its 25th edition and is run jointly by the Romanian Association of Travel Employers (ANAT), and the National Association for Rural, Cultural and Sustainable Tourism, known as ANTREC. The ultimate goal of the programme is to promote tourism in the Romanian countryside.



    This years autumn edition was scheduled to take place between September 30 and October 30, with accommodation fees ranging from 40 Euro per person in a 2-star guesthouse, to 65 Euro per person in a 5-star guesthouse. As usual, guesthouses from all over the country have come up with offers. With details on that, here is the president of the National Association for Rural, Cultural and Sustainable Tourism, Marilena Stoian.



    Marilena Stoian: The programme has always been popular, because it gives low-income people the opportunity to spend a holiday in the countryside, in Romanian villages. Another element contributing to its success is the fact that the programme has been implemented for many years now and we already have faithful tourists, guests who come over, again and again. We receive requests for information even before the official opening of the programme. But the holidays in Romanian villages, in rural tourist facilities, are popular throughout the year, even after this special-offer-special-fees programme comes to an end. In November, December and next year you can spend weekends or proper holidays, even if fees are a little higher than during this period. Nonetheless, hospitality is everywhere as usual, the food is as tasty as it used to be, while hosts are just as welcoming, offering a wide range of programmes, be they leisure or cultural.



    There are many foreign tourists, most of them Europeans, but also tourists coming from America, from Asia, Japan in particular, who want to get to know the Romanians at home, to get acquainted with their traditions. And theres no better place to do that than the countryside, says the president of the National Association for Rural, Cultural and Sustainable Tourism, Marilena Stoian.



    Marilena Stoian: “There are foreign tourists who come here for the winter holidays as well. They want to see the local traditions on Saint Nicholas, Christmas, the New Year and the Epiphany Day. They are interested in food, wine tasting, they are also interested in visiting tourist assets, like museums or monasteries. They are delighted with authenticity, and with the fact that people are very natural, that food is natural, not necessarily organic in the strict sense of the word, but the varieties of food available are natural. They are delighted with the flexibility of the program, with the openness of Romanians towards foreigners.



    When should we start booking our winter holidays?



    Marilena Stoian: We should start looking for our destination and make our bookings straight away. Already there are many guesthouses where all rooms have been booked by the tourists who came there in previous years. They stayed in touch with the hosts and have already made reservations. But places are still available in lots of villages and in areas which are well-known as destinations for rural tourism: Bran, Moeciu, Fundata, Mărginimea Sibiului, the Neamt region, or in areas where the tourism industry has just started growing in recent years: northern Oltenia, Gorj, Valcea. These are areas where special programmes are staged for tourists during the winter holidays. Such programmes reflect accurately the way people have a good time here, how they keep their traditions alive, and tourists take part in that, they join the locals in the cooking, or in the kneading of the dough for the pound cakes, or in making the fire in the courtyard oven for the pound cakes and bread. Also, tourists learn or just listen to carols, which in rural communities are still authentic, they have not been altered by modernity. So were waiting for all of you in the Romanian villages. We are always glad to have guests, and the winter holidays, including Saint Nicholas, Christmas, the New Years Eve, Saint Basil, and Epiphany Day make the perfect time for guests to get to know us, to get acquainted with traditions, to relax and get ready for a new year.



    Here is Cornel Poenar, the manager of a three-star guesthouse in Cavnic, located in northern Romanias Maramures:



    Cornel Poenar: “We can arrange three and five-day stays in our region. For the first day, we recommend a brief tour of Maramures. The schedule includes a visit to Birsana Monastery, which is one of the worlds most beautiful wooden monasteries, the Merry Cemetery in Sapinta, which is unique in the world. Then there is the Memorial of the Victims of Communism and the Resistance, including a visit to communist prisons in Sighetul Marmatiei. For the second day, we recommend Viseul de Sus, for a trip on board a narrow-gauge train on the Vaser Valley. The tour takes eight hours to complete, and the route is among the few ones left in Europe. Then you can visit the Village Museum and the History Museum in Baia Mare.



    Speaking now is Albumita Preotescu, the manager of a four-star guesthouse in the village of Vama, in Bukovina, a region which is famous for its traditions and gastronomy.



    Albumita Preotescu: The guesthouse has a specially arranged area where tourists can find maps with all the objectives worth visiting during their stay, all sorts of leaflets, gastronomy magazines, other information. Bukovina is a region that God has blessed, and were waiting for you all, so that you can discover with your own eyes this wonderful land.



    So all you have to do is contact your tour operator and make an inquiry about winter tourism offers in Romanian guesthouses. They are operational, and the booking season has already begun.

  • Rural tourism

    Rural tourism


    This week we will be introducing you to a range of destinations recommended by representatives of the National Romanian Rural, Ecological and Cultural Tourism. Misu Chiruc, the organisation’s executive director, told us about what is on offer, starting from specific events:



    “One option is the Festival of Stuffed Cabbage in Praid, the Trout Festival in Ciocanesti, the Berry Festival, the Aspic Festival, etc. These are mainly cuisine related events, but we don’t simply promote our meals and accommodation offers, we promote a system of travel under which the tourist can visit us at home, get to know us closely and spend time with the hosts, because rural tourism for me is not simply picking up the keys to an empty place where you get to spend some time alone, but spending time with real people. For real rural tourism, you have to be in a household with your host.”



    We asked our guest which destinations were the most popular in the last two decades:



    “Obviously, these are the places that are naturally endowed with beauty and riches. The area of Bukovina, for example, is one such naturally beautiful place. Then there was the development of the Bran-Moeciu area, where the seeds of rural tourism were sown. The areas of Vrancea and Neamt are also very popular because of the many monasteries here, as well as plenty of other venues. In the meantime, we try our best to do promotion, attract tourists, who in turn will start demanding accommodation, which encourages people to provide it. Interest in the area mounts, which leads to better offers.”



    You should also be aware of the fact that this season in Romania has always been associated with making preserves and pickles of all kinds for winter. You can enjoy those in local households and tourist accommodation facilities of all levels, enjoying the food as well as the atmosphere. The traditional menus include such delicacies as trout wrapped in fir twigs and smoked to perfection, adding to the smokiness the aroma of a fir forest. Freshly made cheeses are also a local delicacy.



    The best part is that tourists can take part in making all these, visiting sheepfolds to see the cheese making process, even helping. Also, if you wish to just enjoy quiet country life, you can simply look out of the window and see the unfolding of a day in the life of a village. However, these are not just family places, but also accommodate corporate and team building events. The national association has very specific packages for all sorts of requirements.



    Misu Chiruc: “We are working together with the Ministry of Tourism, with the National Tourist Authority, classifying our guest houses in a professional manner. As opposed to tourism as usual, we focus on activities, not just meals and accommodation. We have hosts specialising in fishing, next to lakes, ready to assist you for that purpose alone. We are building a network of hosts specialising in facilities for children, like play areas, alongside readily available medical assistance, or psychological support. We also have hosts specialising in hunting. We are trying to create a system of specialisations.”



    At any rate, wherever you decide to spend this autumn, you can take home with you all sorts of traditionally made products that you cannot find anywhere else, such as smoked sausage, country pickles, roast chestnuts, honey, fruit preserves and home made desserts, candied nuts, candy apples, or the famous plum jam made in Topoloveni, the only traditional Romanian product licensed by the European Union. Of course, there are also the home made wines and breads, home made cheeses and mutton ribs, as well as trinkets and tools of all kinds.