How Easter was seen in tourism and consumption

Indicators remain down, but managers say sales are unexpectedly good during the Easter holiday, considering how the economy is faring.

A number of 15,000 Romanians spent 4 million euros on holidays abroad. Over 80 million euros were spent on traditional Easter cakes, eggs and imported alcoholic drinks. Hotels and pensions along Prahova Valley had a 30-40% occupancy rate over the Easter Weekend. The keyword was “stagnation”, with importers of alcoholic beverages being the only ones who saw growth against last year.

“We had the same number of tourists (compared with the Easter of 2009). The occupancy rate is 30-40%, much less than around Christmas, when it amounted to around 60%,” say representatives of Sinaia International Hotel. Tourists mainly favoured three-day stays, costing around 1,000 RON (245 euros) for two, which include accommodation, breakfast and a festive dinner.