Contents
General overview
Romanian tourism is undergoing a renaissance period and while this is more or less in line with what is happening elsewhere in Europe, Romania does have much more ground to cover in order to reach other countries. In 2024, based on Colliers estimates, local and foreign tourists spent a cumulative 26 million nights in hotels and similar establishments, a c.6% bump over the previous year and a new 3 decade high (since 1991 actually). Activity generated by Romanians staying at local hotels expanded a bit slower (c.5%) than that of foreign tourists (c.13%). Still, the total nights from foreign tourists spent in Romania are just shy of 2018-2019 highs (less than 3% below the peak), as business travel is still not fully recovered.
That said, we need to acknowledge Romania’s slow and steady rise as an affordable leisure destination for foreign tourists. The country has been recently featured in several international articles recommending it as a travel destination, with the 2025 Schengen accession likely to further improve international visibility. For now, though, this is more of an aspect to keep track of rather than a visible trend.
Nights spent at hotels, 2024 vs 2019 change (%) show Romania in the first half of the ranking in the EU
Source: Eurostat
Air traffic has also increased some 5% overall and is on track to reach a fresh all-time high for the whole year, with the country’s biggest airport – Henri Coanda International Airport – accounting for the bulk of the increase. This is rather a testament to both the increase in foreign tourists arriving in the country, as well as Romanians travelling abroad - central bank data show record outflows of hard currency out of the country via the balance of payments for travel purposes, indicative of a significant growth of locals visiting other countries.
In a broader European context, Romania is one of the better performing countries. The number of nights spent at hotels is up by c.4% versus pre-pandemic levels, firmly in the first half of the ranking in the European Union (average EU arrivals up by less than 2% in the same period). Leisure tourism has clearly been a key driver of the growth in recent years at a European level, with a clear north-south divide in performances over the last years. For instance, as per STR numbers, ADR (average daily rate) and occupancy have seen much better improvements in countries like Italy, Spain, Greece than Germany or the Nordics, with the CEE falling mostly between these two. We also want to point out that throughout Europe, a divide is also visible in the type of tourism products as well, with upper luxury/upscale projects performing well and expanding, while mass market has remained more or less unchanged over the last years.
It is worth noting that Romania has seen one of the faster growing tourism sectors in the CEE and in the wider European context also from the standpoint of spending. For instance, business travel expenditures reached 333 EUR/trip/person in 2023 as per the most recent Eurostat numbers; while this is the second lowest level in the EU and is quite a bit behind Hungary (562 EUR/trip) and Poland (488 EUR/trip), Romania has seen the 3rd best performance in the EU in terms of dynamic. Per tourist, expenditures for a business travel trip increased by 134% in the decade ending in 2023, dwarfing the average increase of 31% in the European Union.
Despite sharp growth since 2014, Romania is still behind CEE peers on tourist expenditures
Source: Eurostat
Focus on Romanian hotels
For the subsequent analysis, we looked at a selection of performing 4 and 5 star hotels in Bucharest. Firstly, we note that ADR is comfortably above 2019 levels, reaching over 140 EUR/night for the hotels in our selection, which is some 21% higher than in 2019 in hard currency terms (and c.27% higher in RON terms). Versus a year ago, ADR is some 8% higher, which does look a bit better than some regional capitals like Warsaw, Budapest or Vienna, as per STR numbers. RevPAR (revenue per average room) in Bucharest also managed to surpass pre-pandemic levels in 2024 by c.10%.
Meanwhile, highlighting the fact that business tourism has only partially recovered, average occupancy stood at just under 70% in the first 10 months of 2024. While this is clearly in a different league than the sub 50% occupancy rates we had in 2020 and 2021, this is still shy of the 78% peak average occupancy we saw in 2018 and 2019.
Otherwise, the fast-track recovery of tourism (mostly leisure, though business is following) as well as Romania’s relative undersupply, make the country a hotspot for investments. Over 400 rooms in several internationally affiliated hotels were added to the supply in 2024, including the first 5-star Swissotel in the mountain resort of Poiana Brasov (64 rooms, with plans for expansions). Furthermore, around 15 hotels could be opened in the 2025-2026 period, with over 2,000 rooms. While the bulk goes to brands that are currently present on the market, from Marriott to Hilton to Accor, we note some new names, like Ascott Hotels via The Crest Collection and Corinthia (both to enter via new projects in Bucharest).
Overall, the outlook for the local sector looks surprisingly positive, particularly as the sector has proven robust in its post-pandemic recovery while, at the same time, Romania remains largely undersupplied relative to other countries in the region. Barring any major economic downturn, this sets the stage for a continuation of the growth story we have seen until now.