More Moldovans travel for holiday this summer

The number of Moldovans who go on holiday through travel agencies increased by 15% compared to the same period last year, said Sebastian Botnari, head of the National Association of Travel Agencies (ANAT). Sebastian Botnari says the number of both in-bound and out-bound tourists has increased. “Tourism is growing because people started thinking of holidays as of something absolutely necessary”, he told Info-Prim Neo. The most popular destinations are the same as previously: Turkey, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Romania. “A little surprise was the high number of Moldovans who chose Greece”, mentioned Sebastian Botnari. Moldovans usually pay €800 to €1,000 for a vacation for two people. Sometimes, more expensive offers of up to €2,000 are demanded. Most bookings are made for August, while July is a less popular choice because of high temperatures and expensive prices. Botnari said that in-bound tourism rates improved compared to the winter period. Moldovan destinations are usually preferred by students. Nevertheless, this branch of tourism remained underdeveloped. “When you are building a sector of economy, you need more pillars for developing and promoting it. It’s very important that there is a collaboration between civil society, among NGOs, mass media and state institutions”, Botnari said. According to ANAT data, 126,000 tourists used travel agencies to get a vacation abroad. Meanwhile, only 9,000 foreign tourists chose Moldova as their summer holiday destination in 2010. There are no official figures about domestic tourism, but it’s estimated that 300,000 Moldovans go to Vadul lui Voda each summer.