Rural tourism has been seen during the last decades as a means for economic development of sensitive localities, especially in rural areas. However, little research has been conducted on the sustainability of the development induced by tourism activities in rural areas, and even so, with contradictory results. Our paper investigated how tourism impacted on the sustainable development of rural localities, focusing on three composite indexes: demographic stability, public utilities, and socio-economic sustainability. Mann–Whitney U test was used to determine the differences on each of the above-mentioned indexes between the rural localities with tourist arrivals and those without. The results showed that there is a significant positive effect of tourism on rural areas translated into higher values of all the indexes analyzed. This study brings valuable contributions to both academics and policy-makers: on one hand, it provides new insights into the impact of tourism activities; on the other hand, it offers valuable information to decisional actors regarding development strategies.

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The LEADER program is one of the European Union’s financing instruments dedicated to the development of the rural communities. The instrument was introduced in the Romanian rural territory in 2007, a territory characterised by a high level of local and regional economic inequalities. The main goal of the present research is to question whether the development level specific to the rural communities have influenced their performance in managing the LEADER program. In order to answer this question, the characteristics of the initial level of development were analysed in relation to the spatial distribution of LEADER funds. The indicators taken into consideration were the number of projects, funds per capita, funds per Local Action Group (LAG), and the percentage of employees from the total population. In order to assess the relation between the initial level of development and the LAG’s performance, the method used was the Ordinary Least Squares regression, which calculates a set of statistical parameters that highlight the presence, form, sense, and intensity of the dependency relation. The results highlight no correlation between the level of development and the spatial distribution of the LEADER funds. Analysing the data, the paper reveals that the LEADER program is an inclusive rather than a selective instrument for the development of Romanian rural communities, despite other examples researched in Western countries. The results show that the LEADER program can have an influence in reducing the rural disparities, but its effects are of low importance.

The potential role of tourism in enhancing a balanced territorial development is officially acknowledged by the EU. However, little is known regarding the extent to which tourism in Romania contributes or could contribute to reducing regional inequalities. The present study approaches the matter of the growth of tourism demand and supply in relation to the type of territory (lagging, intermediary, leading), at both regional and local levels. The results indicate a significant geographical concentration of tourism activity, despite a noticeable diffusion of tourism across the country in the last decades. This derives from the fact that the leading territories, which already took the lion's share of the tourism supply and demand also retain the highest part of the increases in tourism demand. As a consequence, tourism sector stands out more as a factor that can increase territorial disparities than contribute to their reduction. However, a considerable potential for tourism growth in terms of tourism supply characterizes the lagging regions. Accordingly, differentiated tourism public policies related to the type of territory could be considered.

The presence of World Heritage Sites has been frequently used as a mean of tourism promotion and increased attractiveness. However, previous studies showed contradictory results regarding the territorial impact of World Heritage Sites, and very few researchers discussed their impact in Eastern Europe. This paper examines how the presence of World Heritage Sites in rural localities influenced the tourism growth and sustainable development in Romania after 2000. Independent Sample t-test was used to analyse the evolution of tourism and sustainable development indicators between 2001 and 2016. The results suggest an absence of a positive effect induced by World Heritage Sites in rural areas. It seems that, by itself, the brand has not enough power to sustain tourist attractiveness if it is not endorsed by national, regional, and local initiatives. These findings lead a discussion about how certain sites managed to induce a sustained tourism growth while others failed to do so.

L’hypothèse centrale du présent article est que la résilience dynamique des territoires postsocialistes repose avant tout sur la temporalité et le contenu des stratégies déployées par les acteurs locaux. Sur la base de trois études de cas extensives réalisées au plan longitudinal, l’article reconstitue les trajectoires de restructuration économique des trois métropoles régionales de Roumanie – Timișoara, Cluj-Napoca et Iași. L’analyse comparative des trois cas valide l’hypothèse : une mobilisation proactive et synchrone d’acteurs de la triple-hélice (État-Entreprises-Recherche) est essentielle pour la création et le renforcement d’un nouveau sentier de développement, mais ce dernier est également dépendant des capacités et des atouts locaux différenciés au sein du territoire. L’article montre que la continuité dans le temps d’une attitude proactive de la part de toutes les catégories d’acteurs est essentielle.