Romanian authorities are preparing facilities related to tourist visas for foreigners wishing to visit Romania, while diplomatic discussions have been held regarding commercial agreements in the tourism sector with several extremely important countries from both the European Union and beyond, Minister of Economy, Digitisation, Entrepreneurship and Tourism Bogdan Ivan said on Thursday.

Present at the opening of the Spring Edition of the Romania's Tourism Fair, the minister showed that a process has been initiated to simplify the relationship between the state and tourism operators, with an application being prepared to track the profile of tourists in Romania and launch targeted campaigns.

'I have three short, precise, and clear ideas that I want to underline this morning. First, simplification of the relationship between the state and all tourism operators. Here, we all know that reports are still done with pen and paper, often in Excel. We are using the expertise of digitisation after we created this new ministry, together with our colleagues, specifically to simplify all these bureaucratic processes. We already have an application we have prepared, and now we are calibrating it with all tourism operators in Romania. We are working in technical working groups to make this application operable, which will be free for all operators. With it, they will simply be able to scan their ID or other documents, without needing to make old photocopies or create Excel files to submit reports, so we can track the profile of tourists in Romania, both domestic and international visitors. This will allow us to do the following: to create targeted campaigns (...), and clearly understand how to address audiences both abroad and within the country,' said Bogdan Ivan.

Another issue where problems have been noted is related to granting tourist visas for those wishing to visit Romania, and work is being done to simplify this process.

'At the diplomatic level, we have already held discussions for commercial agreements in the tourism sector with several extremely important countries in Europe and outside the European Union. We are preparing facilities related to tourist visas to simplify all those very laborious procedures. Major tourism operators have informed me of the issues here, and we are already working in working groups to simplify them,' he stressed.

Bogdan Ivan assured that the decisions the ministry will make regarding the tourism sector will only be made in consultation with operators in the area.

'Any decision we make regarding the tourism sector is done exclusively in consultation with the private sector. We have already had many discussions with the employer associations in this sector, and what we have done in the past three weeks, as I have been in this new configuration for a little over a month, together with my colleagues, is that we have taken out of the drawer those draft laws for simplification, proposed by you, that have been there for several years. We updated them and they will soon enter the approval process, and we will even change them. Simple things with a big impact,' said the head of the Ministry of Economy, Digitisation, Entrepreneurship and Tourism (MEDAT).

Additionally, work is underway to make the destination management concept more flexible, in order to establish a national Destination Management Organisation (DMO) that will allow for the creation of targeted campaigns both in the country and abroad to attract tourists.

'Together with my colleagues, I asked the European Commission to make a change in the PNRR [National Recovery and Resilience Plan] to make that concept of destination management organisation more flexible, so we can have a national one through which we can create campaigns, target both domestic and international markets, and give every county or region in Romania the opportunity to associate and create its own brand, which will be part of the national tourism brand of Romania,' Ivan said.

Romania's Tourism Fair, 2025 Spring Edition, began on Thursday at Romexpo. Now in its 51st edition, Romania's Tourism Fair remains the ideal place for showcasing both the most interesting offers and tourist attractions from Romania and abroad, as well as the accessories and gadgets needed for any vacation, according to the presentation on the dedicated website.

The event is held on a 12,000-square-metre area and brings together 190 exhibitors from both Romania and abroad, strengthening its status as a benchmark platform in the tourism industry, according to a Romexpo press release.

This edition has attracted a significant number of international participants, representing 52% of the total companies present. Travel agencies and tour operators have prepared significant discounts for a wide range of tourist packages.

The most beautiful regions of Romania are promoted during the fair, including Brasov, Braila, Bucovina, Buzau, Caras-Severin, Covasna, Eforie, Harghita, Maramures, Mures, Prahova and Tulcea, offering visitors the opportunity to discover the country's authentic attractions.

At the same time, travel enthusiasts are invited to enjoy discounts of up to 50% for summer vacations in popular destinations such as Egypt, Greece, Italy, Spain and Türkiye, up to 40% for packages purchased on the Romanian coastline, up to 30% for Easter and May 1 vacations, and up to 40% for March 1 trips to European capitals and mountain resorts. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Tilica; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)