I read the study several times, especially since, initially, I didn't believe the numbers. The bubble of hate created around the Romanian seaside seemed to me to be far too big to be broken by people who actually choose to come to Romanian resorts. Then I called the statistics office to see what the minimum threshold for a credible survey was, and this is 1025 people, and the one you will read about was conducted on a sample almost four times larger. I continued the checks and called several agencies that sell seaside holidays and surprise: the figures on early booking sales confirm that Romanians want to come to the seaside in the 2023 summer season . From my point of view, it is the moment when hoteliers and seaside administrations can work together to increase the degree of satisfaction of those who gave the Romanian coast another chance, with their own money.
The average budget is 2000 lei for the 2023 holiday
The survey was conducted by Litoralulromanesc.ro , the largest hotel booking platform on the Black Sea . The study reveals that most Romanians who spent their summer vacation in local resorts in the last three years plan to return to the seaside in the 2023 summer season . Thus, according to the research in which 4.026 people participated, over 87% of respondents said they are considering this destination for a vacation next summer, while almost 11 percent have not yet made a decision in this regard. Moreover, Romanians who plan to book a stay on the Romanian seaside for 2023 claim that they are considering allocating a larger budget for the tourist package. Thus, over half of the survey participants (56,7%) stated that they are willing to pay more for a stay at the Black Sea, while just over 37% say they will allocate the same amount as in 2022. Invited to indicate a price threshold to which they are willing to go, over 64% of respondents stated that they are considering paying over 2000 lei for a stay at the sea, and 30,3% are thinking of allocating between 1000 and 2000 lei per vacation. Only 3,6% intend to allocate a budget of under 1000 lei per stay.
" The results obtained show that the Romanian seaside is based on loyal tourists, meaning people who have gone to the Black Sea, tested the services in the destination, formed an opinion regarding accommodation, know what to expect when it comes to beaches, activities, restaurants, etc. And the interaction with the destination convinced them to come back here; this is the clear conclusion of the research, which reinforces the results of a previous study we conducted on the degree of satisfaction of seaside tourists, which revealed that Romanians are satisfied with the cleanliness of hotels, the services received, the staff, the quality-price ratio, each of these categories being evaluated with scores of over 8 out of a maximum of 10. It is very important that we managed to gain their trust and convince them that the local seaside deserves to be the main option when it comes to summer vacation plans ," says Ionuț Nedea, CEO of Litoralulromanesc.ro.
Most tourists prefer three-star hotels
Romanians who spend their holidays on the domestic coast overwhelmingly choose 3-star (58,5%) and 4-star (26,1%) accommodation units, and in terms of the services included in the tourist package, those more - 37% - declared that they prefer all inclusive stays, while 29,6% are looking for accommodation with breakfast. The fewest - 13,3% - are interested in a package that only includes accommodation, and the rest prefer accommodation options with half board.
The figures obtained from the research also confirm the ranking of the preferred resorts, as indicated by the balance sheet presented by Litoralulromanesc.ro at the end of the 2022 summer season. Thus, the Eforie Nord resort is the favorite of the people who participated in the survey, ranking first with 26,5%. In second place is Mamaia , a resort chosen by 20,6% of respondents. It follows in third place, but far from the first two, the Saturn resort – with 9,4%, and in 4th place – Neptun, with 7,7%. The top 5 is completed, in a tie, by Venus and Jupiter.
"Most likely, the preference for the Eforie Nord resort will be maintained in the 2023 summer season, as happened in the 2022 season, when many of the tourists who went to Mamaia turned to the south of the coast, especially to Eforie Nord. Whether Mamaia will regain its first position in the top of favorite resorts depends very much on how the authorities will implement a coherent strategy regarding the parking fee in the resort, and hoteliers will know how to win over tourists with attractive offers," adds the representative of Litoralulromanesc.ro.
The collected data also show that most Romanians go on vacation on the Romanian coast with their family (68%) or with their partner (almost 21%), while friends are chosen for the vacation by only 5,6% of the respondents. 72% of the participants in the survey go to this destination only once a year, the seaside being frequented two or more times a year by the rest of the respondents.
7 people participated in the online survey conducted by Litoralulromanesc.ro between October 14-4.026. In terms of demographics, over two-thirds of respondents are in the 35-54 age group, 15% are in the 55-65 age group, 10,5% are between 25 and 34 years old, almost 5 percent are over 65 and only 1 percent are between 18 and 24.
