OREANDA-NEWS The Moldovan-Romanian cooperation in the tourism sector and prospects for carrying out joint projects which would boost the development of this branch in both countries today were analyzed at a meeting between Prime Minister Pavel Filip and Romanian Minister of Tourism Bogdan Gheorghe Trif. The official is on a visit to Moldova on the occasion of participation of a Romanian delegation in the International Specialized Exhibition, Tourism. Hotels. Leisure. 2018, staged in Chisinau on 29 March – 1 April.

At the meeting, the Prime Minister stressed the important role of tourism for Moldova, noting the need to turn to good account the present potential on this segment, by the active promotion of Moldova as a tourist destination. Pavel Filip highlighted that a special attention was paid to the development of rural tourism, which enjoys popularity in Romania as well. The Premier also emphasized the opportunity of taking over the experience of Romania to this end.

For his part, Bogdan Gheorghe Trif said that, by joint efforts, the tourism branches from the two countries can be developed, in order to contribute to the increase of the national economies. The official expressed openness for working out a common strategy of popularizing the tourist destinations from Moldova on the Romanian market, as well as for the promotion of cross-border tourist routes, such as the Wine Road and Monasteries Road.

At the same time, the sides voiced interest in the creation of joint tourist packages for the target markets from Asia and referred to simplifying the procedure of entrance of foreign citizens in Moldova. Also, the officials pointed out the importance of using different instruments of tourist promotion, as well as of elaborating policies for a sustainable development of the sector.

According to official data, in 2017, about 2.24 Romanian citizens visited Moldova, up by 11 per cent against the year before.