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The purpose of the paper was to study the tourism in the Danube Delta and to evaluate the impact of the hostilities in Ukraine on tourist flows and other aspects. The study was carried out between February 15 and March 15 2024, by applying a questionnaire with 6 questions, on site and during the Romanian Tourism Fair (February 15-18). The questions in the questionnaire addressed how the tourism structures in the Danube Delta have been affected by the hostilities in the neighborhood and whether they were helped by the central and local public authorities. Representatives of 178 accommodation units, totaling 3,080 accommodation places, as well as representatives of some public institutions and NGOs answered the questionnaire. It was tried to find out exact data from all areas of the Danube Delta, so the authors went to the representative localities from a tourist point of view: C.A. Rosetti, Letea, Periprava, Chilia Veche, Crisan, Mila 23, Jurilovca, Maliuc, Murighiol, Sfântu Gheorghe and Sulina. The conclusions pointed out a deep decline in the number of tourists in the Danube Delta in the year 2023, by 42% compared to 2022. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of the Strasbourg Christmas Market on local producers in Alsace, France, focusing on its role in rural tourism and consumer preferences for sustainability and bio products. Combining online survey data from Christmas tourists and analysis of existing reports, the research investigates the market's influence on producer visibility and consumer behavior. Findings inform strategies for promoting rural economic development and sustainable practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Ecolabel for tourism accommodation services was created to reward accommodation and environmentally friendly tourists. It is a way of marking good environmental performance and providing quality assurance for tourists choosing a particular structure. The assignment criteria of the ecological label for the tourist housing services are governed by the European Commission Decision no. 287/2003/CE. The work we are proposing is the result of a study by university professors and master students from the management and agro-tourism specialty at the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest. The study was carried out during 2017-2023 period, the target group consisting of 150 agro-tourist hostels, from the most representative agritourism areas in Romania: Alba, Argeș, Brașov, Bucovina, Buzău, Danube Delta, Harghita, Maramureș, Neamț, Oltenia, Sibiu, members of National Association of Ecological and Cultural Rural Tourism. The study looked at the possibility of implementing the ecolabel for accommodation services in the agro-tourism hostels. Although in 2017 the implementation rate was low - 58%, the results of the year 2023 - 81% are encouraging to implement the Ecolabel in agro-tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research focuses on two main aspects, each equally important for tourism actors. First, we analyzed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the rural mountain tourism in Romania and whether the resilience and sustainability test was passed. The second aim of the research was to identify solutions for the relaunch and development of the rural mountain tourism in Romania. Several research methods have been used to meet our objectives, such as analysis, synthesis, comparison, observation or documentary research. The quantitative research methodology used is limited to the questionnaire-based survey. The questionnaire contained 16 questions and was administered by telephone, between 15-30 March 2023 was addressed to a number of 100 respondents including owners or administrators of classified accommodation units in the mountain area. The analysis of the results shows that the pandemic had a neutral to positive effect for tourism in the mountain area and that, for the most part, the resilience and sustainability test was passed. We consider that this study is very useful for tourism entrepreneurs, for local and central public authorities and the conclusions and recommendations extracted from the questionnaires can suggest valuable ideas for the relaunch and development of the rural mountain tourism in Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dark tourism (or black tourism, or grief tourism), is the tourism associated with death or tragedy. Well known dark tourism attractions are: Auschwitz, Ground Zero or Chernobyl. Dark tourism is controversial with some viewing it as an act of respect and others as unethical practice. This study was carried out during February 24-25, 2023, on the occasion of the Romanian Tourism Fair. We wanted to make a comparative analysis regarding the popularity of black tourism in the world; the opinion of Romanian tourism consumers is presented. For the external part of the research, we used the data provided by Passport Photo Online, a specialized company from the United States. For Romania, the authors of the article, together with master's students from the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine - Bucharest, Faculty of M.R.D., specialization in Management in agritourism and public catering, applied 1121 questionnaires to possible tourists who visited the fair. The questionnaire purpose was to find out the opinion of the visitors regarding black tourism, if this form of tourism is popular and which are the tourist areas in Romania where this tourism is practiced. The answers were analysed and interpreted, the conclusions being very interesting and useful for the new National Strategy of Romania for the development of tourism, which is under public debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of quality is an attribute of products and services that can be evaluated in terms of good or bad. Quality represents customer satisfaction through the best product at the most reasonable price. Modern culinary production, defined by the terms cook-chill = cooked and refrigerated, cook-freeze = cooked and frozen and sous vide = cooked and vacuum-packed, has emerged as a necessity of the modern times we are going through. In this paper, we aimed to analyze the degree of customer satisfaction within the Restaurant Reforma 9 - Complex Agronomia. We completed a questionnaire, which we applied to the restaurant's customers, between January and March 2020. Due to the fact that in March 2020 started the COVID-19 pandemic, and the restaurant was closed, we managed to apply only 60 questionnaires, some of which had incomplete answers. In this study, we received help from several students from the Master of Quality Management and Management in Agrotourism and Public Catering from our Faculty. The results of the study show that, although the restaurant is a student one, where many students from our faculty work, customer satisfaction with the quality of food and services is high. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of the restaurant for a long time, but managers have found modern solutions to partially maintain the business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During this period, world tourism is experiencing the biggest crisis, after the Second World War - the crisis generated by the coronavirus pandemic. Reservations were canceled, the accommodation and public catering units were closed, the flights were also canceled. The losses are valued at hundreds of billions of dollars, many tourism or service companies went bankrupt and employees lost their jobs. Our study was done before this crisis, but it becomes even more current, for the post-crisis period, when tourists and owners of tourism units will have to focus on nature, ecological tourism. The work we are proposing is the result of a study by university professors and master students from the Management and Agro-tourism specialty at the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest. Based on research into their behavior, preferences and motivation, it has emerged that an ecotourist is characterized by a high level of education and training, above average income and willing to spend more in a destination during a stay extended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The institution of bankruptcy is necessary and obligatory in any market economy. Mostly, a company's insolvency is caused by the simultaneous effect of different causes, which act on the various indicators of the company's business. In addition, the practice has shown that a firm does not fail suddenly, but the process of performances decrease extends over a long time. That is why, it is important to analyse the impact of fiscal policies on corporate insolvencies. The effects of fiscal policies on the economic growth have been extensively studied in the literature. To achieve the purpose of the research, we analysed the link between the level of fiscal policies and the corporate insolvencies in the European countries. A correlation-regression analysis was conducted on a sample of 32 countries over the period 2013-2017. From the analysis results, it is evident that the low fiscal freedom leads to a lower level of corporate insolvencies. Our findings suggest that EU governments and policy-makers need to acknowledge that in order to develop the European framework for restructuring and bankruptcy management it requires the right fiscal policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Holiday tickets (or holiday vouchers) are value vouchers, similar to meal vouchers, which can be offered by employers to employees. They serve as a payment instrument for payment of tourist services/holidays exclusively in Romania, for the beneficiary and his/her family. Holiday vouchers are nominal and non-transferable, they are deductible and tax-free, both for the employer and for the employee. In this paper, we analyzed the legal framework for the issue and implementation of holiday vouchers, as well as economic issues related to the effects on the increase in the number of tourists and the revenues from tourism. At the same time, we analyzed the influence of introducing holiday vouchers on the decrease in unauthorized tourism in our country. To make these studies, we have used statistical data provided by The Ministry of Tourism, The National Institute of Statistics, „The Federation of Hotel Industry of Romania” (FIHR) and by „The National Association of Tourism Agencies” (ANAT). We also analyzed and interpreted a survey conducted by the Romanian Hoteliers Federation among tourists, employers, tour operators and travel agencies. According to the data, the granting of holiday allowances or holiday bonuses in the form of holiday vouchers of 1,450 RON between 1 July 2017 and 30 November 2018 allowed 1.2 million Romanians, employees of state institutions or companies in which the state is a sole or majority shareholder, to spend their holidays in the country. At the end of October 2018, the value of holiday vouchers increased to EUR 244 million, 8.4 times higher than in 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Danube Delta is a poorly developed area, but it has tremendous potential. The European Union will allocate the Danube Delta by 2020, with the possibility of extending for an additional three years the amount of 1.3 billion euros for infrastructure, tourism and jobs. In this paper we analysed, based on the questionnaire, the opinion of the tourists who visited the Danube Delta regarding the future investments aimed at developing the Danube Delta reservation. The questionnaire was applied on a sample of 1,067 tourists, from 1 March 2017 to 31 January 2018, in the following localities: Crişan, Murighiol, Sulina, Mila 23, Sfântu Gheorghe, Caraorman, Periprava, Maliuc, Gorgova and Dunavăţu de jos. The tourists' opinion on the investments that should be made for the development of this area, 55% think that investments in road infrastructure should be made, 23% in actions to promote the tourist potential of this area, 15% consider it necessary investment in utility infrastructure, and 5% of them consider the number of tourist units to be insufficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims for a comparative analysis on the economic efficiency of the Confort Penssion located in a rural area and the Danacris Penssion from the urban area. The reason for choosing these two units is that the types of tourism they represent are significant areas of operation, namely leisure tourism ("Confort" Penssion) from Suceava area and business tourism ("Danacris" Penssion) from Bucharest. Based on the existing methodology in the specialized literature we computed specific indicators in order to highlight economic efficiency.Based on the analysis of the main financial standing indicators and the evolution of income and expenditure one may conclude that both companies are profitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, finding innovative, environmentally friendly solutions has turned into a research topic for all fields of activity. In the constructions field, there are designed and built green or sustainable structures that use durable constructions materials, regenerating sources of water and energy supply, etc. The identification of a construction's durable components is a challenge for every system of measuring sustainability. These elements refer not only to the energetical performance of a green construction, but also to the efficiency of using materials, water, etc. The performances of the green assets are explored in the present study by means of two systems for measuring the constructions' sustainability that is the BREEAM and the LEED respectively, which are based on a system of durable parameters. Towards the end of the study, we will elaborate on the advantages offered by designing and building a sustainable construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we aimed at analysing and providing a model for the development of agrotourism in our country. We considered that agrotourism in Spain may represent a model for the sustainable development of agrotourism in Romania, due to the geographic, political and economic context in the two countries. In order to achieve a more profound analysis, we selected three representative autonomous communities, namely Castilla and Leon, Castilla - La Mancha, Cataluña. As a result, we noticed that in Spain the concept of agrotourism was introduced based on the diversified tourist development in a small area, called „rural tourist nucleus". Also, in other areas, the development of rural tourism was initiated, starting from the agrotourism stage. We identified other situations as well in which global rural development strategies were implemented in order to guide the local, regional and national agents through a diversity of supplementary measures. An essential aspect of the Spanish context which our research focused on is that the legislation related to tourism in Spain is normative and it has a sectoral character, namely it regulates various types of accommodation in the rural environment. The autonomous legislation has a general character, at territorial level, so that 15 Autonomous Communities, except for Madrid and Canary Islands have specific rural tourism regulations. In conclusion, agrotourism in Spain provides a complex model for the development of agrotourism at European Union level. The tourist policies of the Spanish Government and of the autonomous communities, may all be absorbed by the Romanian Government and the local public authorities for the sustainable development of agrotourism in our country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we aimed at analysing the impact of the normative acts elaborated by the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism in 2011 on authorising agrotourist guesthouses in Romania. The survey targeted the comparative analysis of the minister's orders in 2008-2010 and of the Minister's Order No. 1051/2011 regarding the agrotourist guesthouses classification criteria and classification procedure. In the second part of the survey, we performed a comparative analysis of the number of agrotourist guesthouses classified by the ministry in the interval January-June 2010 as compared to 2011. A first conclusion of this survey is represented by the fact that the Minister's Order issued in 2011 simplified the bureaucracy of authorising agrotourist guesthouses and the other accommodation and public catering units. Practically, according to the new regulations, the authorisation file contains an application and three more documents, as compared to the old requirements, according to which the file was quite sizeable. Through the adopted measures, the interval between the date the standardised statement accompanied by the full classification documentation is submitted and the date the classification certificate is issued is decreased to 30 days. The fulfilment of the classification criteria is verified after the authorisation within the control activities performed by the representatives with specific responsibilities within the central public administration authority responsible in the field of tourism. A second conclusion is that there is an increase in the number of classified agrotourist guesthouses and that they progress from the black tourism market area to that of the authorised, legal tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]