Eco-tourism in the Carpathian Mountains may soon be offered by specialist operator Romania Travel Centre, which launched the UK’s first dedicated Transylvania brochure earlier this year.
“The Carpathian Mountains are remarkably beautiful, it is excellent hiking country,” said managing director James Greig.
“Outside the towns of Poiana Brasov and Sinaia there is a lot of unspoilt terrain. Romania has the largest bear and lynx population in Europe, and you can also see wolves,” “We are getting in touch with organisations that specialise in taking small groups of people to see nature close up.”
This year the operator launched two dedicated brochures – a four-page Transylvania brochure, which offers breaks in the Carpathian Mountains and Dracula tours, and four-page Bucharest brochure with city breaks.
The operator’s seven-day Transylvania tour takes in the region of Moldavia in the north of Romania. It leads in at ú670 for seven nights’ half-board, including flights with Tarom to Bucharest.
Greig recognised the potential for growth after Romania was presented on the BBC’s Holiday Heaven show in October last year. “We realised the product was strong enough, and that we needed a brochure,” he said. “Up until then we had been arranging travel there on an ad-hoc basis.”
For this summer, the operator is promoting trips to see the eclipse of the sun on August 11 in the Carpathian mountains. “The town of Ramnicu Valcea is a prime viewing location. You get maximum blackout of 2mins 23secs. We will be laying on a barbecue, and there will be optional excursions to Dracula’s castle and the medieval town of Brasov,” said Greig.
A seven-night Dark Side of the Sun trip costs around ú475, based on half-board in two-star accommodation. The price includes flights.
Greig feels Romania’s future is as a cultural destination, not a beach destination as it has been in the past.
“There are no charters to the Black Sea coast, and hotel standards need improving. The country will not attract mass tourism like it did in the 1970s and 1980s, when it was a cheap alternative to Greece and Spain,” he said.
“We are trying to push the cultural and nature sides of the country. Romania is a place to explore – not to lie on the beach.”