Vulnerabilidad, Activos y Estructura de oportunidades

The practice of areas with intense tourism revealed that we must begin the analysis with the analysis of the tourism destination. We will try to find the real actual situation, the causes which lead to it and the possible exits from the blockage. We shall have to define what a safe destination means and whether or not Romania is among them. “Safety” of a destination depends on political decisions. London or Paris or New York is more dangerous than Bucharest. And yet, in internal or public bulletins of state structures (The Department of Foreign Affairs’ circular letters) or professionals, the situation is different. There are not numerous cases of travel cancellation, from passenger initiative, due to events there. Even a decrease of traffic after September 11th, was mainly due to state measures: the decrease in transports and the hardening of the checking, rather than due to lack of demand.183

Romanian politicians have made a series of issues due to the mining riots. Whereas their influence on tourist arrivals in Romania was basically null and void: first of all, the number of tourists in Romania was insignificant (except those from close areas, journalists and businessmen which knew the situation well); then, Romania was not at the same time neither an international tourist destination, because no major company operated here. We can not blame the mining riots exclusively, or street violence, etc. in tourist countries, conflicts are often bigger, but with no influence on tourist activity. Let us further highlight this: the explosion of bombs in Paris did not lead to a decrease of arrivals in France, but Ocealan “destroyed” arrivals in Turkey for two years:

trust is a function of the attitude of power, or powers. Turkey is not France!

Tourism is the “visiting card” which is the most persuasive (governed by the principle of the Apostle Thomas: “let me feel with my hand, see with my eyes”), cumulating political, economical, social and cultural opportunities.

Romania’s image abroad. Being a tourist destination implies inspiration, and prior to that deep trust: tourist trust, government trust, and mass media of the issuing countries. This is gained by two major ways: gathering information in the country of destination and broadcasting them in the issuing country; observing and broadcasting observations regarding the behavior of the citizens of the receiving country in the emitting country.

Tourists: after the 90s, we had foreigners with supplies, officials, businessmen for testing or for testing their luck, workers of the media. The classic, holiday tourist, disappeared as ONT “Carpati” disappeared without being replaced, as the political will also disappeared in this domain. In the service sector, the so called sunken capital – enters in the initial investment and basically is no long

t TIB is expensive, and state effort,

er recuperated, ever, according to classical thinking – it is essential and a prerequisite, but small private Romanian firms did not possess it and no one helped them accumulate it184 – especially state structures trough economic mechanisms and diplomatic assistance. For example, at the Berlin tourism fair in 1993, 1994 and later, foreign tour-operators basically had no Romanian counterparts: “the former” ONT Carpati was no more, “the new” were unknown and speaking mainly Romanian. And the offer…whereas a presence a

for what it’s worth, was wasted or counter-serviced. And this in a well-structured field, with rules which are thought in hundreds of schools! Romania was completely inapproachable: even if we would have this handicap, the influence of official people is negligible, because it was eclipsed by the position of influence groups from issuing states. In the same way, information which circulated due to businessmen which came to Romania.

Mass-media from the issuing countries: journalists in Romania did their job (and at least our journalists and diplomats knew the rules, but had no reaction: actually a lack of reaction = complicity!): they gathered their news, news which sold their paper, in their country. No charity

183 See Rotariu, I - Romania who did tell lies? prepared and sent to the Grenoble seminar organized by Reporters without borders, March 1990

184 IATA report – Bangkok Meeting – January 2002

was involved. We can not hide and blame international mass – media for our wrinkled image. We must act, as the Arabs and South-Americans have acted, etc. as German Turks forced the Germans to adopt them, including after street fights! Vertical attitude is thought; Moses gave it 40 years in the desert! Because living people communicate: with what can the tourist which returns home brag if he can not say to his friends: “wait, it is not how they said on television, I was there, I have seen….” And there is no tourism without image. And it is not journalists which make the image f a destination, rather the political decision put into practice by the crowd of citizens. Tito fined them! This is ow the Yugoslavian seaside was launched in the sixth decade! The characteristic of these years

well, oman

en further: Romanians before 1989 had the highest percentage of

he 70s, 80s, but ich they would get from urism

adequate attitude. Where from can we support such effort? From 1990, in stead of the instructions of security or the ONT we have tenths of tourism units, thousands of graduates, hundreds of agencies. No one was born enlightened. Customs are achieved! Aside from the effort for “privatization” of the material basis, we must open a front for the dignified EXISTANCE among people! The results, no matter what the cost, will be cheaper than losses trough emigration and the loss of the national sentiment.

In a short version: if we desire tourism – and we must make tourism if we want to survive in the global world – then we must first have a plan for the image of the country and the people. Work is required, but you can not exist in the post-industrial society, without living at GLOBALIZATION STANDARDS: this is the path. Otherwise, we may be used as a tourist curiosity as the aborigines are used in some countries. And image is not given by the whole of a country. Where there is no, substance and deeds, there is no image.

This is only the starting point in the laborious work of constructing the tourism destination. There are rare exceptions: a few locations with centers for tourism information, a few internet sites, etc. are not even the beginning. We must make a passage to school and learn how a tourist destination is being organized, then to get to work. Let us not forget that most tourists only come back after several years, so they can not observe short term changes. Neither can the locals, living here every day. But a traveler will immediately notice the commercial quarters which have been face-lifted, but also the appalling final floors of flats. The aggressive behavior of the street and the explosion of villas and holiday houses make them think of us as a “banana” country. And, by

o

drivers if they did not give absolute priority to foreigners or they were unkind with h

regarding Romania’s can be resumed in such a way: from the Gavroche of the revolution to the kingdom of the gypsies and handicapped trough corrupt billionaires, made from cardboard, the “second generation”. (These words are hard for me to write, but they must be written!)

We do not insist on the position of the governments of emitting countries. I am convinced – and it can be easily proven, that Romania was boycotted as a destination – that they themselves have been surprised by our lack of reaction, many coming to be “convinced” by the truth of intoxication messages commended by them. It comes as a surprise for them as R ia’s obedience to commands regarding trips of Romanians abroad and the installing of the “sanitary cordon”185 and ev

travelers abroad as reported to the population of socialist countries, we were in a country of a departure typhoon. Actually, the “visa battle” was one of the hardest!

Moreover, we must add something more: the effort for information, for education in the spirit of dignity. The “swan” episode in Vienna186 is still the consequence of tourism ignorance or neglect. An educational system must educate you on how to travel as well! In t

even now, citizens of the United States – mostly those on missions, both unofficial or private – showed you, if you were lucky enough to open the subject, brochures wh

to agencies or specialized structures regarding their attitude and behavior in the country of destination, going all the way to clothing dignified for a US citizen. On the internet, on the site of the State Department, this does not only reveal actualized information concerning traveling conditions in most countries but also advice concerning the so called

185 things were rather different in other transition countries

186 for 85 states Romania is a “sanitary cord”, imposing draconic measures to stop the arrival of the citizens of those states in Romania, from where they could go to the E.U.

giving neither a western, nor an exotic image, we become common for international tourism. And the explanations of the guide regarding the anthropoid patrimony will be confusing. Whereas western tourists consume, they do not research, do not discover, even if the tour is called “discover Romania – simply surprising”. They “live” the contents of the safe destination, specially built for them. These are the places picked by their tour-operators, which take no chances, not for anybody’s sake.