CLUJ-NAPOCA – PREMISES OF A POTENTIALLY OVERCROWDED TOURIST DESTINATION

Abstract

Nowadays, several international tourist destinations are dealing with overtourism, which means a series of malfunctions concerning activity segregation (often, located in historical centres), discomfort for the local community and even for tourists, due to extended visiting hours, etc. In the same context, in a number of cities, local authorities came up with coping strategies regarding the management of tourist flow during travelling seasons and measures to avoid overcrowding on tourist attraction areas. We started our research with the purpose of validating the hypothesis according to which the city of ClujNapoca is confronting an intense travelling phenomenon and its consequences upon the citizens. In order to achieve this goal, a double social inquiry was considered, aiming at, on one hand, tourist perception of overtourism in the city of Cluj-Napoca (50 validated questionnaires), and citizen opinion in what regards tourist behaviour in Cluj-Napoca (166 validated questionnaires), on the other hand. The results of the research pointed out the following: a high interest in Cluj-Napoca tourist attractions, especially the ones located downtown; a tendency towards overtourism in the month of August, due to summer events, as well as overcrowded areas throughout the historical centre; the role of local administration in promoting the city of Cluj-Napoca as a travel destination; an everyday better image of the city as a destination for worldwide tourists etc.

Keywords

• tourist destination
• social inquiry
• cultural tourism
• romania
• cluj-napoca