Some 2.23 million foreigners visited Romania in 2015, for business or pleasure, spending around EUR 1.27 billion, according to recent data from the National Statistics Institute (INS).

The number of foreign tourists was 16.7% higher compared to 2014 (1.91 million) but the total spending only went up by 10% (from EUR 1.15 million in 2014). On average, a foreign tourist spent some EUR 570 in Romania last year, down from EUR 600 in 2014.

Almost 56% of the foreign tourists traveled to Romania for business, congresses, conferences, courses, fairs and exhibitions, their spending representing 59.5% of the total.

Accommodation expenses represented 53.3% of the total expenditures for business tourists, most of them preferring accommodation with breakfast included (90.2%). Foreign tourists’ expenditures in restaurants and bars represented 16.4% while those for shopping had a share of 12.7% in total expenditures.

Some 44% of the foreigners came to Romania for personal reasons, mainly holidays (62% of them). They also traveled to Romania for shopping, cultural and sports events, to visit friends and relatives, for medical treatment, and religious purposes.

Almost half of the foreign tourists had their trips organized by travel agencies, and 28.7% organized their stay in Romania by themselves. About 77.8% of the foreigners traveled to Romania by plane, 12.5% chose the personal car, and 8.7% arrived in Romania by bus.

In the fourth quarter of 2015, Romania was visited by 477,000 foreign tourists, which spent some RON 1.26 billion (EUR 283 million). Almost 58% traveled to Romania for business.

How many tourists in Romania last year?

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com