The tourism promotion of Maramureș became the subject of a scandal in February 2026: British presenter Charlie Ottley publicly accused the County Council of owing him 30.000 euros, while he paid 150.000 lei for a stand with an LED screen. OMD Maramureș subsequently promised payment.
"Maramureș County Council have just spent 150.000 ron on a 48 sqm stand with 10 sqm LED screen. (…) They owe us 30,000 euros (…) It's utterly disgusting and totally dishonorable. (…) Shame on you Maramureș County Council."
Charlie Ottley 's public message is not just a nervous Facebook post. It's an indictment. Ottley filmed Romania and promoted it internationally. He worked with crews, actors and technicians and says he paid them out of his own pocket, for a project commissioned by a public authority. And that, two years later, the money still hasn't arrived.
Meanwhile, Maramureș County reportedly spent 150.000 lei for a 48 square meter stand, with a 10 square meter LED screen.
We're not discussing here whether the stand is beautiful.
We're not discussing whether the LED is eye-catching.
We are discussing a fundamental contradiction: how can you invest in appearance when you have not honored your past?
Romania's tourism promotion: a history that repeats itself
This is not the first episode in which Romania's tourist image is treated superficially. In 2022, at the Travel Show New York, Romania's booth went viral for the wrong reasons. A curtain printed with a few photos taken from a printer, without a concept, without storytelling, without a coherent message. An improvisation that was supposed to represent a country. Then I wrote that it was not just a problem of budget, but one of vision.
Today, the Maramureș case shows that the problem is not just vision. It is also moral coherence.
Between embarrassed minimalism and opulence without strategy
Romania has constantly oscillated between two extremes: embarrassed minimalism and opulence without strategy. I have seen empty stands, with poor graphic materials, without staff prepared to tell a story. I have also seen bigger and brighter stands, but without an integrated campaign and without continuity. The problem is not the size of the stand. The problem is what remains after the lights of the fair go out. If a professional film, with days of filming and weeks of editing, remains “on the shelf”, as Ottley states, we are no longer talking about promotion. We are talking about waste.
Tourism promotion is not just about being present in an exhibition pavilion. It means valuable content, distributed coherently, paid for on time, and integrated into a long-term strategy.
Beyond Maramureș: tourism promotion and creative industries
The case is not just about one county. It is about how Romania treats its partners in the creative industries.
We had the New York "curtain". We had domestic fairs with symbolic presences, without a clear concept. We now have an LED stand and a publicly contested debt.
The image is not built with decorations. It is built with consistency.
Update: what OMD Maramureș replied
In a new message, the British presenter announces that he has been assured that the arrears will be paid.
“Since I published a post about the problems I encountered with the Maramureș County Council, related to unpaid debts left by the former OMD and the previous administration, I was contacted by Diana Iliut, the new director of OMD Maramureș, who promised that this situation would be resolved imminently. For this reason, I deleted the post, as they now acknowledge the problem and apologize for allowing it to continue.
I now hope that they will pay us for the film commissioned by the former OMD and the previous administration, as well as for the small contribution they agreed to make to the production costs of "Flavours of Romania", season 3, currently airing on Netflix.
I recognize that the situation is not entirely their fault, but better communication regarding their ongoing difficulties would have generated more understanding on my part. As always, it's all about communication."
