PM Dancila: Romanian tourism has all the ingredients needed to become a success story in Europe

Romanian tourism has all the ingredients needed to become a success story in Europe, and it is the responsibility of the government to create the necessary levers for the development of this sector, Romania's Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said on Thursday in a message delivered by Deputy Prime Minister Ana Birchall at the 2nd edition of Connecting Europe through Innovation, an event organized by Social Democratic Party (PSD) MEP Claudia Tapardel in collaboration with Romania's Ministry of Economy and Parliament. 

As a preamble to the message, Birchall pointed out that to the prime minister and the Romanian government, connectivity is a subject of major concern, including in terms of Romania taking over the six-moth rotating presidency of the EU Council on January 1, 2019, and alongside tourism is "not just closely related economic sectors, but also two areas with potential for economic growth, both at national level and at the level of the European Union as a whole." 

"We know that Romanian tourism has all the ingredients needed to become a success story in Europe. It is our responsibility to create the necessary levers for the development of this sector, all the more so as it plays an essential part in all the measures envisaged for economic growth and employment. We are aware of the importance of innovation and new technologies and, implicitly, of the need to integrate the tourism sector in the area of e-commerce. We also believe the importance of co-ordinating and creating synergies with other sectors and incorporating new technologies in other policies with an impact in the field is essential," said Birchall, reading out Dancila's message. 

The message added that Romania is considering the use of this sector "to promote and make better known its natural and cultural heritage in order to become a competitive tourist destination globally." 

At the same time, it pointed out that "interconnectivity is an essential element for the optimal functioning of the European single market," and in this sense, "EU sectoral policies are increasingly addressing concrete ways in which this objective can be achieved at European level." 

The message added that "accessing European funds and their good management is a strategic priority with Romania." 

Attending the event were European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Elzbieta Bienkowska; Bucharest General Mayor Gabriela Firea, as well as several ministers of the Dancial Cabinet - Transport Minister Liviu Sova; European Funds Minister Rovana Plumb; Minister for the Business Environment Radu Oprea, as well as Economy Minister Danut Andrusca.