How Much Money Do Foreign Tourists Spend in Romania?

More than 1.5 million foreign tourists were accommodated in the profile units in Romania in the first nine months of this year, and their expenses exceeded USD 855 million, meaning USD 565 per person, according to the data published on Friday, December 15, by the National Institute for Statistics (INS).

The figures are way lower than similar statistics for neighbouring countries. Bulgaria and Hungary have ten times more international tourists visiting their countries than Romania, which tells everything about the differences between how other countries promote tourism and the quality of the services offered.

Business trips (including participation in congresses, conferences, courses, fairs and exhibitions) represented the main reason for the stay spent by 50.1% of non-resident tourists arriving in Romania between January and September 2023, their expenses representing 55.1% of the total expenses.

Among the non-resident tourists who arrived in Romania, 49.9% travelled for a private purpose, representing 44.9% of the total expenses. Private travel includes travel for vacations, shopping, cultural and sporting events, visiting friends and relatives, medical treatment, religion, transit and other activities.

39.3% of non-resident tourists organized their stay by themselves, 38.3% organized their stay through a travel agency, and 13.1% opted for other ways of organizing the trip. In comparison, 9.3 % organized their trip independently and through a travel agency.

The primary means of transport used to arrive in Romania in the first nine months of 2023 was the plane, used by 74.9% of the total number of tourists, while 17.3% used their cars, 5.7% coaches and buses, 0.8% river boats and 0.4% train and 0.9% arrived by other means of transport (rental cars, motorbikes).

Bucharest remains the top city visited by international tourists arriving in Romania.