Amalia NIȚĂ Gina SURUGIU
Abstract

Maramureș County has many attractions, but only some of them can generate a significant number of foreign visitors and can be considered tourism assets. Most of them and all the supporting infrastructure need further development. Common identified problems include a high number of facilities that are less developed, lack of proper marketing and tourism interpretation. The existing businesses of rural tourism that may serve this tourist market could improve their products in order to capture a larger share of visitors, overnights and spendings. Overall, the lodging establishments, mainly the rural boarding houses, which are dominant in the area, record a number above the national average level with no need for construction of new establishments as the hotels; the tourist flows are dominantly national. Rural tourism proves to be vitally important to the economy of the county, the visitors spending having a high impact in most of the communities. The tourism development should focus on a better system for implementation of marketing and interpretation programs such as thematic routes, common marketing strategy, county collaboration and creation of common web, mobile and print materials. All these measures can help and revitalize the family businesses in the rural areas of Maramureș.

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