Călin Ile is a long-time collaborator of the funkytravel.ro platform . An expert in tourism, Călin has a name for himself. I'll just leave you with a few titles so you can understand how much he loves tourism and how he tries to find solutions for the growth and professionalization of this sector.
And Călin Ile's business card is impressive.
Calin Ile graduated from the Faculty of Tourism of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies in 1995. He graduated from the International Hotel Management School at Cornell University and EHMI, but he also attended tourism courses at the Den Hauge International Hotel School. Since 2015, Călin Ile has been the president of FHIR – the Romanian Federation of the Hotel Industry. In 2020, he was one of the founders of the Alliance for Tourism, also known as APT, which seeks to unite the hospitality industry in Romania . APT developed, during the coronavirus pandemic, the document “SOS Romanian Tourism”, which outlined ten short-term solutions and fifty medium- and long-term solutions for the industry. Călin is also a member of the board of directors of the Concordia Employers’ Confederation, one of the most important employers’ organizations for social dialogue. I have made this introduction to you so that you understand that Călin lle’s opinion on Romanian tourism is an extremely qualified one.
In mid-October, Călin Ile's name appeared in a press release from the Mamaia - Constanța Destination Management Organization , which stated that his company would develop and implement a local tourism development and marketing strategy. That's why I wanted to find out from Călin Ile what his plans are for this coastal area.
A first question, Călin, what is the biggest plus of the Constanța-Mamaia destination and how will you make Romanians and foreigners see it in the sea of negative news ?
Constanta – Mamaia is the most important tourist area in Romania , based on the number of accommodation units, the number of tourists, restaurants and attractions. It is the most attractive part of the Romanian coastline, easily accessible by train or car, has this special positioning between the lake and the sea and comes with a relevant history as a tourist destination of over 100 years.
In order to make tourists see the advantages rather than the disadvantages that this special destination comes with, all our communication construction, marketing strategy should be focused primarily on the consumer of tourism services, i.e. the tourist. Let's communicate directly with the tourist, see what their expectations are before anything else, and then respond to their expectations through the services offered, through the investments made and through clear and well-adapted messages to each segment of tourists.
If we talked about the pluses, let's see the minuses and how can they be corrected?
Obviously there are also minuses that will certainly be highlighted by the research we will do before outlining the tourism strategy. So as a personal opinion, I would say that the urban chaos to which the Mamaia resort has been exposed in recent years, represents the biggest minus that will be difficult to fix. But there are solutions for this too.
Finally, the fact that for a long time it was impossible to unite tourism operators in order to support a common destination strategy is a big minus that we hope the current WMO will correct. You cannot make progress as a destination if everyone only pursues their own interests and not the common interest. It is about that greater good that we must find together.
I would stop at these two shortcomings for the moment, I prefer to hear the tourist's voice through the research we will do and then we will address exactly those topics in our discussions.
"Destination Mamaia-Constanța, ambitions should be higher"
How long will the Constanța-Mamaia destination have a tourism development and marketing strategy?
The contractual term for developing the strategy is 5 months, between November 1 and March 31, 2024. However, I would like to say from the outset that the tourism development and marketing strategy cannot do much without a tailored implementation. It is like having a super-performing car, with the destination point already configured on Waze, but without the driver to take us to that destination. Oh, and there is something else important, that that car has the necessary fuel for travel, and here I am referring to the human and financial resources intended to implement the strategy we are talking about.
Is it true that the Romanian seaside lives only off vacation tickets? Is that what we want as a destination?
It is not true that the seaside lives only on vouchers, but it is true that vouchers represent an important market for holiday tourism in Romania . Annually, the Romanian state grants about 500 million euros for vouchers, of which about 80% is consumed, that is, around 400 million euros. The hotel market in Romania represents about 1,6 billion euros, and restaurants in Romania have revenues of about 3,5 billion euros.
However, I am of the opinion that the time has come for the policy of holiday vouchers to be rethought. On the one hand, they must be designed in such a way as to achieve their social purpose for which they were created, namely, to help the population of a low economic level to still benefit from a vacation with the aim of mental and physical recovery. On the other hand, the holiday vouchers are not allowed to lead to the alteration of the tourist product with which the destinations in Romania are presented. A solution would be for the vouchers to be applicable only in certain periods of time (off-season for example).
Personally, I think that for the Mamaia-Constanța destination, the ambitions should be higher and should be positioned towards the more financially powerful customer segments and not towards those dependent on holiday vouchers, but we will see what the sociological research that we will do will tell us as the foundation of the future strategy.
"You cannot say that you represent an attractive destination when you register only 34442 foreign tourists at the end of August, according to the INS."
How do we increase the number of foreign tourists? Why would they choose Constanta and Mamaia and not Bulgaria or Turkey?
This is one of the biggest problems of the Romanian coast, the lack of foreign tourists. At 8 months, Constanța county has fewer foreign tourists than Iasi, Prahova, Mures, Ilfov or Timiș, not to mention Brașov, Cluj, Sibiu or Bucharest.. You can't say you represent an attractive destination when you register only 34442 tourists foreigners at the end of August, according to the INS.
The causes are multiple and solving them requires first of all a change of approach, an exit from the state of numbness and complacency that we have the most Romanian tourists anyway. This is where everything would start, from the ambition, the desire to bring foreigners to the seaside, obviously followed by a well-thought-out strategy, a correct implementation and an allocation of resources in line with the assumed objectives.
The choice of Constanta (Mamaia) can be supported by many arguments even compared to Bulgaria or Turkey and these arguments must be brought forward and promoted to potential markets. At first blush, I would say that the city of Constanta (including the Mamaia resort) must take care of the local authenticity and for this I would urgently see a plan to enhance the historical, cultural heritage, ethnic diversity and what this brings in gastronomy, culture, traditions, etc. I am curious if there is anyone who has thought about how the Constanta Casino will be managed once the CNI completes the works in March-April 2024. This combination of the local authenticity with the pleasure of a seaside holiday and with a specific seaside atmosphere could find echo among a wider clientele (both Romanians and foreigners) than the one focused exclusively on the peak season months.
Mamaia was one of the destinations always in the attention of Romanian tourists, and now it seems that only negative news is spreading. What happened to get here?
I think that this is also a combination of factors, the lack of a credible authority to speak on behalf of the destination being one of these factors. This meant that there was no coherent and strong message, there were many, but weak messages, coming through various channels (public authorities, tourism operators, journalists, social media) and which did not find the common denominator or the necessary credibility to fade the negative currents of opinion you were talking about.
On the other hand, communication alone cannot annihilate certain signals given by our tourists, such as that the quality of services has decreased or that the prices have increased far beyond their expectations.
The marketing strategy and the existence of a strong OMD can help a lot here by anticipating possible vulnerable points, addressing them in time and changing the communication strategy from a reactive strategy (to respond to the crisis) to an active one (to launch topics and themes of discussion in favor of the destination). I think this will also answer your possible question about the existence of detractors of Romanian tourism, about the constant sabotage to which the Romanian coast and tourism is subjected.
"Batumi – Georgia, has more than 10 5-star international chain hotels. What do they have that we don't have (yet)?"
If you had funds, would you open a hotel in Mamaia or Constanța and why?
The answer is an obvious YES and let me give you just 5 reasons that justify this answer coming from my experience as a hotelier for more than 25 years and who today carries out most of his activity in consulting to hotel investors.
- It's a big market - over 5 million overnight stays per year in Constanța county is a figure that will allow you to find the right place and earn well if you make a tailored investment. As proof, there are many operators on the coast who show us that it is possible and that where there are quality services, tourists will always come.
- There are (unfortunately) no international chain hotels in Constanta yet (with one exception) – this represents a big niche. For example, Batumi – Georgia, has over 10 5-star international chain hotels and is also a city at Black Sea, with roughly the same climate, but with half the population. What do they have that we don't (yet) have? A well-thought-out strategy and tailor-made implementation.
- Sun&sea holidays – still the number 1 attraction for European residents, before city breaks or visits to relatives/friends. According to Eurostat.
- Under the conditions of climate change, the season will extend to more than 3 months, for sure.
- Mamaia-Constanța has an extraordinary potential for the development of MICE tourism in the off-season, as do many other seaside destinations. It is close to Bucharest and easy to reach, has a large capacity for accommodation, a large multi-purpose hall will soon appear in the city, so a well-thought-out hotel in the leisure + MICE segment would undoubtedly work.
I conclude by thanking you for your questions, I confess that I am impressed to see your interest arise less than 24 hours after the signing of the contract between the winning company Brandberry and OMD Constanța Mamaia. We need the involvement of opinion leaders in supporting this endeavor and that is why I thank you once again for your involvement. My request, however, is to wait for the strategy to take shape following the research and consultation stages undertaken and to rely on the results that emerge from there rather than on the subjective opinions expressed by me in this interview.
