Analysis of the tourism potential of Bukovina in the context of Covid-19 crisis

Abstract

Tourism is an extremely present activity in people's daily lives. It facilitates the highlight of the cultural heritage and the natural and anthropic resources of a destination, develops the education and culturalization of the population and supports the development of the communities involved in tourism activities. Bukovina is one of the most famous touristic regions of Romania, a true national brand, the place where traditions blend perfectly with modernism, the place where authentic Romanian traditions are kept alive. At the same time, Bukovina is the most visited destination from the North-East Region of Romania, tourists being attracted by the richness of the objectives, by the hospitality and warmth of the locals and by the diversity of entertainment opportunities offered. The global crisis caused by the SARS-COV-2 virus has had a particularly strong impact on all the world's economies, but especially on the tourism sector, with the world tourism market experiencing unprecedented declines in tourist arrivals. This paper aims to analyze the touristic potential of the Bucovina region by interpreting statistical data on tourism infrastructure: number of tourist accommodation establishments, accommodation capacity, number of arrivals and number of nights spent in tourist accomodation in the context of the SARS-COV-2 pandemic. From the analysis we can conclude that although the Bukovina tourist region has decreased by over 45% in the number of tourist arrivals, it has the potential for tourism development due to the rich cultural and natural heritage of the region and the many opportunities generated by it.