Foreigners made less than a quarter of the tourists who spent at least one night in in Romania's hotels and lodging facilities in 2012. Only 20 percent of the 7.6 million tourists who spent the night in hotels and boarding houses in Romania in 2012 were foreigners, meaning only 1.5 million. The ratio was similar to 2011. Also, the number of tourists who spend at least a night in local hotels is small compared to the number of tourists who entered Romania in 2012 – 7.9 million. This means only 20 percent of the foreigners who arrived in Romania chose to take local accommodation. The number however might be a bit higher, as statistics do not cover tourists who stay at friends, or who take accommodation on the black market, in rural areas.

Overall, the number of tourists in Romania's hotels and boarding houses was up by 9.3 percent in 2012 compared to the previous year, according to the country's Statistics Institute.

When it comes to foreigners who entered Romania in 2012, most of them come from Europe – 94.2 percent. EU visitors cover almost 60 percent of the total foreign visitors to Romania.

Hungary continues to be the number one source of foreign visitors to Romania – 33 percent, with Bulgaria ranking second – 20 percent, Germany, third – 9.4 percent, Italy, fourth, with 7.3 percent and Poland, 6.4 percent.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: sxc.hu)