SMIC, vol. XXII, 2023, pp. 181-200.

https://doi.org/10.62616/smic.2023.22.09

The full text is available accessed CEEOL / Textul integral al studiului poate fi accesat prin CEEOL:
https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=1226406

Mioara ANTON, In winter with Dracula. Turişti britanici în România socialistă / In Winter with Dracula. British Tourists in Socialist Romania

Abstract

In the mid-1960s, as the regime in Bucharest re-established economic and political relations with Great Britain, it also invested significantly in the development of tourism. Socialist Romania’s hard currency needs forced the communist leadership to find multiple ways to obtain it: tourism was one of the available solutions. Initially, Romanian offers were successful on the British market. During the 1970s, the number of British tourists in Romania increased considerably. They visited either through travel agencies or as private holidaymakers. Figures, however, began to drop when the advertisements proved contrary to the real conditions in the country. Inadequate accommodation services, poor restaurant menus, limited leisure facilities, regime restrictions on travel to and from the country, in addition to rationing and shortages, pushed British tourists into abandoning their holidays and opting for other destinations.

Keywords: Socialist Romania, British tourists, holiday club, economic scarcity, Nicolae Ceauşescu.