Prospects for sustainable rural cultural tourism in Maramure y , Romania

Rural tourism development in southeastern Europe: transition and the search for sustainability

“…Roberts and Simpson's (1999a, b) examination of the emergence and influence of rural tourism NGOs in Romania and Bulgaria emphasised the importance of intangible elements of new social practices as factors critical to successful partnerships, particularly in relation to constraints on, or opportunities for, sustainable practice. This is reinforced by Turnock's (2002b) observations on Maramureş in northern Romania.…”

Rural tourism and livelihood strategies in Romania

“…Thus, greater cohesion among all government levels is urgently needed in order to promote training programmes and integrated territorial marketing. As Turnock (2002) pointed out, despite the already existing stimulative legislation aimed at moderating tax burdens and simplifying bureaucracy, starting a rural tourism business is still a challenging prospect in terms of capital investments and skills. -The encouraging examples of rural tourism that have been analysed in this study are run by families of Romanian, Hungarian and German ethnicity.…”

“…The remaining rural accommodation structures, which are not members of ANTREC, generally face greater difficulties in accessing the national and international tourist market, although several examples of particularly active independent guesthouses have been observed in several counties, such as in Suceava and Maramures¸, which are already well-known for their cultural and natural resources (Botez and Lupu, 1998;Turnock, 1990Turnock, , 1999Turnock, , 2002.…”

“…From an academic perspective, while a large number of general studies on Romanian rural tourism have appeared both in national and international literature (Benedek and Dezsi, 2004;Dezsi, 1999;Cipollari, 2005;Hall, 2004;Mitrache and Manole, 1996;Turnock, 1990Turnock, , 1999Turnock, , 2002Vaetisi, 2006), the links between tourism and livelihood strategies in local communities have yet to be investigated thoroughly. Accordingly, this study explores how rural communities can enhance their livelihoods by becoming involved in tourism through documentation of the experiences of some families that host tourists in their homes.…”

“…This aim has been pursued through farmland redistribution and creation of larger, more viable holdings, and also through the European Union's SAPARD programme (Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development), focusing on rural infrastructure, farm modernisation, increase in food processing capacity and development of rural tourism (Biertel and Turnock, 2007;Ministerul pentru Întreprinderi Mici s¸i Mijlocii, Comert x, Turism s¸i Profesii Liberale, 2006;Turnock, 2002). The development of rural tourism, in particular, is expected to play an important role in the revitalization of rural areas, in line with common beliefs and practices in several other European countries (Hall, 2004).…”