According to the latest figures, tourism in Romania has a minimal contribution to the GDP, while jobs in this sector are regarded as a ‘last resort’ career option due to the low salaries. Although, in terms of growth rate, the domestic market is at the top of the ranking (which includes 176 countries), in terms of value, Romania is positioned towards the bottom of the ranking of tourism-derived revenues.
Last year, travel agencies, hotels and restaurants were among the businesses with the lowest salaries. In the hotel and restaurant industry, the average monthly salary stood at 195 euros (in comparison to the national average of 313 euros a month), which made it the worst paid sector in the economy.
In the case of travel agencies, the average salary stood at 445 euros a month, far below other sectors such as air transport, the tobacco industry and the petroleum industry. However, the growth rates were among the highest – 31% on the segment of travel agencies, and 27% for the hotel and restaurant sector.
Although the number of employees in tourism is expected to reach 304,000 this year, almost 10,000 more than in 2007, i.e. around 3.5% of the entire national workforce, a job in the hospitality industry is considered a ‘last resort’ because of the low salaries.
According to a study compiled by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), low incomes lead to good managers being lost, who choose to work abroad instead.
The growth rate of revenues derived from tourism places Romania at the top of the ranking that features 176 countries, a rate that reached 8.1% this year.
However, direct revenues collected in the travel industry are forecast at 3.6 billion dollars (2.2 billion euros) this year, which would account for around 2.2% of the GDP and places Romania among the lowest ranking countries in terms of the share of travel revenues in the overall GDP, according to WTTC data.
Considering that activities in the travel industry also have a major impact on other industries, the overall value of revenues will amount to 9.3 billion dollars (5.76 billion euros) this year, equivalent to 5.8% of the overall GDP for this year.
This result places Romania at No. 149 in the ranking.
The growth rate will be of 9.3% this year, which will take Romania to No. 6 among the 176 countries.
As for the number of employees, the figure is expected to reach 600,000 this year, which includes individuals indirectly connected with the tourism industry (6.9% of the overall employees at a national level). A large part of these increases have been generated by the investments announced in new hotels.
WTTC studies from 2006 indicate several reasons for tourism’s small share in the GDP.
Among these factors are the lack of political interest in developing this segment, the lack of adequate marketing studies and research, a faulty infrastructure and the lack of an IT infrastructure, particularly in rural areas; all of which have a negative impact on travel revenues.
Romanian travel industry
This year’s 9.3% growth rate places Romania at No. 6 among 176 countries
In terms of the GDP, the travel sector is ranked among the bottom countries, at No. 149
Although salaries in the travel sector continue to grow at a fast rate, they still fall behind those in other sectors