Hotels trendy among tour operators

Pushed by the need to integrate their businesses, more and more tour operators are directing their investments to hotels and boarding houses. At least five Bucharest-based travel agencies have started investment projects in the hotel industry thus far. “We plan to buy some land in Bucharest as we intend to invest in a hotel. It will be a four-star hotel, with about 50 rooms,” said Alin Burcea, president of Paralela 45 tour operator. The investment may amount to about 4 million euros. Paralela 45 is the fifth tour operator that announces plans for an investment in a four-star hotel in Bucharest. As in other economy sectors, the tourism businesses, rather heavily fragmented until now are embarking on an integration and consolidation process. RR Turism opened the three-star Dacia hotel in Bucharest last year, following an about 2 million-euro investment. J’Info Tours in its turn has recently announced it will invest in a hotel in Bucharest and will take development even further to a national hotel chain in the long run. The agency has already invested 800,000 euros in a conference centre in Snagov and an aparthotel in Bucharest. ZF