Supply and Demand in Tourism Destinations in Romania. Pre and Post Pandemic Comparative Analysis

Abstract

Tourism is considered one of the most dynamic sectors of the economy and is an essential element for countries that have significant tourism resources that can be exploited. The rational use of tourism resources is closely related to the increase in tourist flows and the number of accommodation establishments, i.e. tourism demand and tourism supply. The article deals with the relationship between tourist demand and tourist supply, using the example of destinations in Romania, and aims to identify destinations where there is a balance between accommodation units and overnight stays, and how to intervene to reduce the gaps between them. In this sense, quantitative methods such as Spearman and Kendall indicators were used to rank these destinations based on the statistical data provided by Tempo online during the period 2000-2021 for two periods 2000-2019 and 2019-2021. The research results show that highly specialized destinations are the most affected by seasonality. A solution to remedy this situation could come from Destination Management Organizations (DMOs). The study addresses the issue in a crucial period for tourism worldwide, not only in Romania, namely the period characterized by the pandemic COVID -19. Thus, both the period before the pandemic, when tourism reached its highest level, and the period after the pandemic, when a return to a normal situation, but marked by profound changes, is observed, are evaluated. The novelty of the article consists in the creation of a consolidated relationship between the destinations in Romania and the eight DMOs recently established in Romania, in order to allow a better management of the tourist activities.