Official statistics: Five-star hotels accounting for 4.2 percent of Romania's total hotel accomodation capacity

Romania had 36 five-star rated hotels as of July 31, 2018 and 367 four-star hotels, but three-star travellers accommodation facilities account for the bulk of 52.1 percent in terms of numbers, while two-star hotels make up 20.6 percent of the total, shows data released on Monday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). 

Of the total hotel accommodation capacity, three-star hotels account for 43.3 percent, two-star hotels for 23.9 percent, four-star hotels for 26.8 percent, five-star hotels for 4.2 percent, and one-star hotels for 1.8 percent; hotels not included in the star-rating system account for 0.08 percent, INS said. 

The most significant increase in the accommodation capacity was with agro-tourism guesthouses, that saw an advance of 9.2 percent in the first seven months of 2018 compared to the same period last year, while places in tourist villas increased by 8.5 percent, and hotel accommodation inched up 0.9 percent. Overall, the number of tourist accommodation places increased by 2.8 percent. 

Out of the total of 161,700 rooms available in travellers accommodation establishments as of July 31, 2018 (holiday huts excluded) 98,400 (60.7 percent) were in hotels. The rise in the number of rooms this year was as follows: 1,901 in agro-tourism guesthouses; 797 in hotels; 605 in tourist villas; 469 in boarding houses; 169 in hostels. 

The number of tourist accommodation seats was 353,300 as of July 31, 2018, of which 196,700 in hotels, followed by agro-tourism guesthouses with 48,600, tourist boarding houses with 35,800, tourist villas with 16,600, and hostels with 14,200, INS said. 

By tourist areas, 91,700 of the total number of seats were in Bucharest and county seats, Tulcea excluded; 80,300 were in seaside resorts, Constanta city excluded; 72,500 in other localities and tourist routes; 65,000 in mountain resorts; 36,200 in spas; 7,600 in the Danube Delta area, the city of Tulcea included. 

Constanta County accounts for the largest share of the total number of tourist accommodation rooms (24 percent, holiday huts excluded); followed by Brasov County (8.4 pct); Bucharest (6.1 pct); Bihor County (4 pct); Prahova County (3.6 pct); and Suceava County (3.4 pct). 

With 961 tourist accommodation facilities, Brasov tops the county rankings, followed by the counties of Constanta (834), Suceava (460), Harghita (434), Mures (362) and Prahova (345). 

A share of 28.1 percent of all tourist accommodation facilities are located in mountain resorts; 18.3 percent are in Bucharest and county seats (Tulcea city excluded); 9.1 percent are in seaside resorts (Constanta city excluded); 7 percent are in spas; and 3.4 percent in the Danube Delta (Tulcea city included). 

An overwhelming chunk of 77.7 percent of the total number of rooms are in permanent tourist accommodation structures; rooms with bath or shower accounted for 96.6 percent of the total (holiday huts excluded). In school and preschool camps, 57.3 percent of the rooms did not have a bath or shower.