The Evolution of Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) in Romania

Abstract

The Romanian tourism destinations have evolved after 1990, following an intuitive path, addressing the interests of source markets that were targeted in the past. The development of tourism was influenced by local and regional initiatives, in the absence of a coherent vision and strategy on national level. Starting with 2000, several pilot tourism associations appeared in different destinations of Romania, trying to promote their offer on a high competitive international market. Their role and activities evolved, from promotion of tourism areas to product development, strategic planning, trying to compensate the need for a comprehensive management of tourism destinations. Nowadays, in almost all areas do exist DMOs, with different membership structures and different management approaches. The aim of the present paper is to present the evolution of DMOs in Romania, bringing into light the dynamic of this process, the main stakeholders involved and the challenges that they faced, on a longitudinal approach.