Romania's tourism industry has a new "grand plan": a guide for establishing Destination Management Organizations (DMOs). A document meant to bring order to a decades-old chaos. But, as we've come to expect, the rulers have once again managed to put the roof before the foundation.
Two worlds captured in images
Tourism specialists, those who experience the reality on the ground every day, were blunt: the guide is a formal construction, with no legal basis and no funding. In short, "a guide to failure."
The photos from the Ministry of Economy say more than any press release. In the first one, uploaded to Facebook by Adi Voican, vice president of ANAT, you can see tourism specialists, industry people, consultants, associations, officials and politicians.
People from tourism who raise real problems: lack of funding, aberrantly designed regions, marginalization of the private sector.
In the second image, politicians and state officials appear , seated at the table with the air of those who have solutions. However, exactly those on whom real tourism is based are missing: the operators, the communities, the investors.
The contrast is striking: on one side the table full of specialists demanding solutions, on the other table…….pictures and phrases rolling around “long-term visions”.
Discourses that clash
Let's get to the posts of the two camps... because you get the impression that they are competitors, not on the same team.
Specialists: without clear legislation, without funding, and without the real involvement of the private sector, the MDGs are dead in the womb.
Politicians: "It is vital to unite local administrations and communities. Constanța needs a long-term tourism vision."
If I were to translate the two photos, the message would be this: some talk about laws, money, and reality, others do PR with hashtags.
Tourist Romania, caught in the middle
Out of 8 regional MDGs promised, Romania has ticked off only one. Without a solid foundation, the guide risks becoming just another bureaucratic museum piece, a beautifully written brochure that solves nothing.
Romanian tourism needs solutions, not photos of politicians in conference rooms. Until the rulers understand that you can't build a roof without a foundation, Romania will remain the champion of drawer guides.
Two messages, two images, two worlds! One full of people who know what's wrong. Another full of people who only know how to look good in a picture.
