“In previous years, reservations for Valentine’s Day began in November, but now demand has plunged 50 percent in this period. Many purchased tickets as late as January,” said the owner of the Calibra travel agency, Martin Bikfalvi.
The depreciation of the leu led to a rise in prices of Valentine’s Day holidays to RON 1,600 (some €372) from RON 1,200 (approximately €279) in 2008, according to Bikfalvi.
Tourists opted mostly for locations such as Predeal, Sinaia, and Mamaia in this period. Thus, the price for a 13-16 February weekend in a three-star villa in the Predeal mountain resort, with breakfast and dinner included, amounts to RON 260 (€60.5) per person. In the Mamaia seaside resort, two nights cost up to RON 480-670 (some €112-156).
The number of foreign tourists who came to Romania fell by an annual 5.5 percent in 2008, to 1.46 million, according to figures provided the National Institute of Statistics (INS). Only 65,300 foreign tourists came to Romania in December, down 11 percent year-on-year.
