The total number of tourists who checked into Romanian hotels and guesthouses went up by 10.4% in 2017 compared to the previous year, to over 12 million, the National Statistics Institute (INS) announced on Friday.

The number of Romanian tourists increased by 10.2%, to 9.3 million, while the number of foreign tourists grew by 11.2%, reaching close to 2.75 million. Most foreign tourists came from Germany (324,400), Israel (292,800), Italy (241,400), France (167,200), and US (157,200).

The total number of overnight stays went up by 6.5%, to 26.9 million, with each tourist spending on average 2.2 days in local hotels. The stays were longer in the case of Romanian tourists, namely 2.3 days, compared to 1.9 days for foreign tourists.

The net use index of accommodation places was 31.2% last year, up 0.4 percentage points over 2016. The occupancy rate was higher in the case of hotels, namely 39.4%.

The arrivals of foreign visitors to Romania, according to customs, amounted to 12.7 million, up 24.3% compared to 2016, with 90% coming from European countries. Most foreigners who entered Romania last year came from Bulgaria (24.7%), Hungary (21.8%), Italy (10.1%), Germany (9.1%), Poland and France (5.1% each), and the UK (4.8%).

The departures of Romanian visitors abroad amounted to 19.9 million, up 23.6% year on year.

editor@romania-insider.com