Over 355,000 foreign tourists visited Romania in the first quarter of the year, spending some RON 1.05 billion (EUR 236 million), according to recent data from the National Statistics Institute INS.

The total sums spent by foreign tourists in Romania  were almost 20% higher than in the first quarter of 2014 (some EUR 200 million) as the number of tourists increased by 15%, from 309,000. The average sums spent also went up by about 4%, to almost EUR 670.

Foreign tourists spent close to EUR 1.15 billion in Romania last year, 6.2% more than in 2013. 

Almost 65% of the foreign tourists traveled to Romania for business in the first quarter of 2015, their spending representing 68.9% of the total.

Accommodation expenses represented 54.1% of the total expenditures for business tourists, most of them preferring accommodation with breakfast included (91.5%), according to INS. Foreign tourists’ expenditures in restaurants and bars represented 16.4% while those for shopping had a share of 12.8% in total expenditures.

Only 35.3% of the foreigners came to Romania for personal reasons. Most them traveled to Romania for holidays (59.5%), while the rest came for shopping, cultural and sports events, to visit friends and family, for medical treatment, or for religious purposes. The leisure tourists allotted more of their budgets for recreation activities (some 22% of their total spending).

Almost half of the foreign tourists had their trip organized by travel agencies while 29.2% organized the stay in Romania by themselves. Most of the foreigners arrived in Romania by plane (83.5% of the total), while 11.6% chose the personal car.

How many foreign tourists will visit Romania’s capital this year?  

Irina Popescu@romania-insider.com