It may seem like an extremely bold statement, but Romania is ready to practice responsible tourism. Moreover, it is highly needed that the concept be understood and propagated; and that action should be taken on the basis of the existing theory. Romania does not come up with miraculous solutions, especially not when it comes to investments – which have been expected from some time now. Being as we are, luxury tourism does not represent us, while mass tourism is not desireable. Tourism should not destroy tourism – it is an appropriate motto for our Romania’s current situation. It is only fair to say we have a disadvantage compared to other countries/ areas – yet we can turn this gap into our advantage.

Oh, how joyful we were when Prince Charles or other foreigners acknowledged the harmony in which nature and traditional ways of life coexist! Through responsible tourism, the reference vector consists in discovering and respecting communities’ way of life. What even others noticed is that the way of living in Romania (especially in Transylvania) holds uniqueness and mystery. It is placed on nature and history, traditions etc., yet the journey from this perspective is appropriate to promotion programmes in Romania, creating touristic products, highlighting our touristic destinations. A lot of ideas can come through this approach – ready for community development through tourism.

We now start a new endeavor – a programme dedicated to responsible tourism based on the seminars, conferences, forums, events and publications lead and organized by the Amphiteatre Foundation. That is how we approached the concept: by tackling sustainable development and the imperatives of the present.

We explicitly support a scientific approach. However, we will not limit our actions to theory – it will serve as framework for practical actions which are necessary for communities, and actors in tourism, culture, education etc.

We open here and now a platform for scientific contributions and for acknowledging good practices in responsible tourism in order to contribute, in our own way, to the development of tourism from the knowledge-society perspective.