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Romanian President Denounces Shortage Of Skilled Workers In Tourism

Romanian President Traian Basescu on Monday denounced the lack of skilled workers in the tourism industry, urging for a fair quality-price ratio of the services and a redefinition of the country’s tour destination principle.
Romanian President Denounces Shortage Of Skilled Workers In Tourism
20 iul. 2009, 13:44, English

“Romania is no longer known in the world as a tourism destination. It is known as a country which sends perpetrators to Italy, as a country which exported over three million workers and which doesn’t capitalize European resources efficiently,” Basescu told a meeting of the Consultative Council in Tourism.
 
Romania’s tourism infrastructure is not as developed as in other states, Basescu admitted, mentioning that this is not the main cause for the existing situation in the sector. Countries like Greece, for example, manage to have a highly developed tourism without a “successful infrastructure,” the head of state noted.
 
In addition, the prices charged by Romanian tour operators do not reflect the quality of services rendered.
 
“Tourists traveling to the Mediterranean to find good quality services at prices similar to ours will not return to us. A tourist lost is a tourist lost. It is hard to win them back,” Basescu said.
 
He criticized the shortage of skilled workers in the tourism industry and urged the operators to get more involved in training qualified personnel.
 
“We have EUR3.2 billion in European funds available for training courses. Many obtained licenses for requalification, yet the regulations are weak and trigger a poor qualification,” Basescu mentioned.
 
Agriculture and tourism are top priority sectors in Romania, as they generate jobs and money to the state budget, unlike other industries, which may or may not last, Basescu said.
 
He gave as example Nokia’s plant in Jucu, Cluj County, saying it is good that foreign investors came to invest in Romania, but that one cannot know how long they would stay. Agriculture and tourism, however, belong to Romania and are here to stay.
 
Basescu attended on Monday a meeting of the Consultative Council in Tourism at the seaside resort Neptune.
 
The meeting, chaired by tourism minister Elena Udrea, was to address the propositions regarding the coming Tourism Law forwarded by the members of the Council.
 
The Consultative Council in Tourism comprises representatives of the Tourism Ministry, of employers’ associations and trade unions and of national professional associations that operate in the sector.