Developing tourism destination management organisations in Romania

The European Commission helped the Romanian authorities develop a network of destination management organisations (DMOs). The aim was to strengthen the capacity of central and regional stakeholders to implement a coordinated network and help develop tourism.

Context 

Romania lacked a coordinated system of tourism destination management. The regional stakeholders have limited capacity to implement a coordinated network.

A recently revised law on tourism introduced DMOs as new public–private partnerships.

Evidence-based recommendations and guidelines were needed to implement DMOs across various territorial levels.

Support delivered   

The support was provided over 13 months, in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Experts advised on how to develop an operational framework in order to establish effective DMOs in Romania.

The support measures included:

• In-depth review of the current destination management framework in Romania, drawing on consultations with the regional stakeholders
• Operations manual providing tourism practitioners with practical guidance and international good practices on how to establish effective DMOs.

Results achieved  

Support from the Commission helped to achieve the following results:

• improved capacity and new operational tools to develop a coordinated network of self-sustaining DMOs in Romania

And is expected to have the following impact:

• Strengthened role of tourism in support of local and regional development in Romania