As you probably know, the Ministry of Education announced the new structure of the school year. Thus, the National Assessment for 22th grade students will take place between June 25-2021, 28, and the Baccalaureate will begin with the written tests between June 1 and July 25. Students who do not fall into these categories will enter summer vacation on June 2021, 2020, a week later than in XNUMX. You may say that five days of school has no way of affecting the tourist season, but the numbers show that things they are worrying.
43% of Romanian tourists come on holiday to the sea accompanied by children.
According to a research conducted by litoralulromanesc.ro on a sample of 59.000 reservations, 43% of Romanian tourists come on vacation to the seaside accompanied by children. 35% of these children are schoolchildren. I think you already understand where I'm going! Let's move on with the numbers and remind you that the summer vacation will be taken one week later. By 25.03.2021, reservations were made for 40% of the total accommodation capacity on the seaside , precisely during the school week extended by the Ministry of Education. And let's get to the money! The total value of reservations made for the period affected by this measure is ... 50 million euros. Yes, you read that right! This could be the loss of the seaside if everyone who has children gives up that vacation week.
But let's not mourn the hoteliers, let's see who really loses!
The month of June is recognized as the one with the beginning of the summer season. A period in which, if you are lucky with high temperatures, you can take a holiday at the sea with a decent amount. 90% of the reservations made for this period are made in early booking campaigns with NON-REFUNDABLE tariff policies.
I mean, the tourist took a risk when he bought it! Good! Let's say that the hotelier doesn't care, which is not true! A dissatisfied customer will remain dissatisfied even if it's not the hotelier's fault! And then I can see that half of the students in Romania will not go to school in the last week because they will suddenly "get sick". Again, it's not fair! But what would you do in the place of the parents who realize that they may lose the only vacation they could afford this year?
Let's move on! Those who usually choose the high season cannot afford a seaside vacation between July 15 and August 15. " This measure affects the Romanian tourist who has already made his reservation and who, if he wants to choose another period, will have to pay the price difference. Also, there is no certainty that they will be able to reschedule their vacations at their workplaces. " , says Ionuț Nedea, CEO of the company litoralulromanesc.ro
Therefore, this measure not only creates an uncertain business environment, but deeply disrupts the market and disservices all actors involved in the trade chain. Simply put, direct losses to both the business environment and tourists.
"At this moment, there are no more resources to cover additional losses"
Let's see why everyone who has businesses on the coast is upset after all. The measure to change the school year comes shortly after the disappearance of holiday vouchers. They didn't even recover well from the first punch in the stomach because they were again forced to calculate the next losses. And we're not just talking about the companies that sell domestic holidays to Romanians.
All businesses are built and managed in a predictable environment, that is why when the Ministry of Education announced the structure of the school year, hotels and tourism operators developed commercial strategies, budgets, contracting policy in relation to the data communicated by the Ministry . Also on the basis of these communicated data, charter contracts worth hundreds of millions of euros were signed, both for Romanian and foreign destinations. These contracts assume the full payment of the contracted services and their guarantee by the tour operator in proportion to 100%. In other words, loans were committed and budgets were drawn up, resources were allocated and investments were started. The situation in 2020 sounds familiar when dozens of airlines and travel agencies were unable to refund customers when the restrictions caused by the pandemic were introduced. Here's why!
" At this moment, there are no more resources to cover additional losses. In the general context in which we see that the countries around us are making huge efforts at the governmental level to support and promote the tourism sector, Romania falls into the paradigm of a policy oriented against tourism and tourists both by projecting a stigma on tourists who want to go on vacation during this period, and by adopting measures that have the effect of preventing the activity from taking place or significantly diminishing the market potential. " says Ionuț Nedea.
And if that wasn't enough, here are the "big" plans the Ministry of Economy has for attracting foreign tourists.
Dobrogea Day performances at the Constanța State Theater: "Comedy Shop" with 1+1 tickets, "Maria Tănase. A Story" and "Good Luck"
The Constanța State Theater dedicates the week of November 10–15 to Dobrogea Day: "Good luck", "Theatre in the classroom" in high schools, "Comedy Shop" with 1+1 tickets and "Maria Tănase. A story".
