A couple appreciated by Romanian vloggers who have been traveling the world for years, returned to the country, stopped in a favorite destination to unravel a mystery related to Romanian tourism.
It's about Blondrienne – the name of the vlog on YouTube, resulting from a play on words that also included the acronym from Bogdan and Adriana, the names of the two vloggers who carried out a case study in Sibiu – this year's winner of the Great “Destination of the Year” award.
Upon returning to the country, the couple stopped “in one of the favorite cities”, to find out how it manages, in comparison to the rest of the country, to highlight all that is most valuable and to permanently attract foreign tourists, such as Italians, Germans, Austrians, Greeks, Asians, etc..
Aware of the fact that Romania still has a lot to learn in terms of tourism, though “like it or not admit it”the vloggers wanted to show, directly from the source, how some areas come to be recognized and appreciated internationally and, implicitly, attractive, in the context where tourism continues to remain one of the sectors with the highest potential to provide growth and economic development at the international level.
Vloggers from Blondrienne to Sibiu Source YouTube Bondrienne
“Romania still has a lot to learn in terms of tourism”
Before briefly explaining how Romania is doing in terms of tourism, especially the international one, let's say about Adriana and Bogdan (she born in Iași and he in Piatra Neamț), that they have been posting impressions from their travels for years from the countries they visit, with tips on affordable accommodation, but also through the prism of the conditions offered, must-visit tourist attractions, plus Instagrammable places and much more.
Therefore, they have the qualification, through the prism of the experience gained, to make a pertinent analysis of Romanian tourism.
However, returning to the topic, let's remember that in 2019, Romania ranked 56th out of the 140 countries analyzed, according to the Tourism Competitiveness Index developed by the World Economic Forum, with 2.64 million foreign tourists attracted, which brought to at that time 1.45 billion euros, receipts from international tourism.
After a drastic decrease, during the pandemic, last year, the number of foreign tourists still did not reach the level of 2019, being only 2.1 million. As a parenthesis, I noted that the figures mentioned differ depending on the institution reporting them.
In such conditions, starting from these aspects, how are we still lacking in the chapter “attracting foreign tourists”in the context in which Romania has a huge potential in this regard?
The two vloggers tried to find out the answer in the city that proves that when you want everything is possible – Sibiu: “Romania still has a lot to learn in terms of tourism. However, there are some places in our country that make us proud and prove that we can do it here too. Today we are in one of our favorite cities in Romania. Welcome to Sibiu with us!”.
“A country with huge potential, but which doesn't really know how to promote itself”
“Romania is a wonderful country, which we rediscover and see with different eyes every time we return after a long trip to other continents. We have history, we have monuments, we have architecture, traditions, gastronomy and fairytale landscapes, but we tend to keep them to ourselves. Their care and presentation to the world leaves a bit to be desired. Every place in this world has pluses and minuses, but we are really lucky to have been born in a country with everything, a country with huge potential but which, unlike others, doesn't really know how to promote itself”, remarked the vlogger couple in a video (SEE VIDEO) made around Easter, but only posted the other day.
And they admitted that the idea of the Sibiu vlog was neither to present the city in detail, nor to load the approximately 30,000 permanent followers with all kinds of data or stories: “Instead we would like to open a discussion topic and it seems to us the right place. In 2019 we arrived here for the first time and fell in love. And since then I have been left with a question: how is it possible from Sibiu?”.
“How is it possible from Sibiu…”
In addition to promotion, the influencers also showed other reasons why the city and implicitly the county of Ardeal stands out in the Romanian tourism chapter: “Sibiu is known for the many events that are organized here… such as the Easter Fair… We want to discover how it is possible that so many foreign tourists come to Sibiu. Everyone has heard of Transylvania… But how many places are there to discover in our country!… Sibiu is one a city that knows its potential very well… We heard English, Italian, French, German everywhere around us. This is because Sibiu enjoys international recognition”.
And they remembered the fact that Sibiu Romania was included in the list of the most beautiful medieval cities in Europe. And Forbes Magazine included it in the Top 10 of the most beautiful cities in the world. Even the Michelin Green Guide gave it three stars – the highest rating given to a city in Romania. In addition, in 2007, it received the status of European Capital of Culture. “Thanks to this visibility and the desire to continuously evolve, it is becoming an increasingly attractive location for tourists, but also for investors,” the vloggers concluded.
“The city with a bohemian spirit that knows how to show the world what it's capable of”
And to prove their point, they set off on a journey to discover the beauties of Sibiu. They admired the architecture, the colors, the history, the magic of buildings such as the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Piața Mare, or the old houses and symbols in the Historical Center, but they also noted the mockery of some historical monuments, a sign that there are also minuses and that there is room , always, for the better.
They also tested the Liar's Bridge myth, remembered stories about “suspicious eyes” so famous from the roofs of buildings and tested the smart benches, charging their phones.
“As we were always talking about Sibiu and saying that it is one of the most tourist-friendly cities, well, here, there is a plaque with information everywhere, on every monument… Also here, on Strada Cetății or on “Cea most beautiful street in Sibiu” there is also a cafe… perfect for photos”the vloggers also mentioned, noting with amusement the complaint written on a poster, from the window of the neighboring house, by the owner dissatisfied with the proximity of the famous restaurant.
And at the end, they also took a trip with the tourist train recognizing that: “It's like we went in a cart, on this cobbled street… It shook us, only we know how, but it's nice…” And they concluded: “Colorful, dynamic, but at the same time relaxed and creative, SIBIU it is a city with a bohemian spirit that, like an artist with a vision, knew (in fact he still knows – ed.) to show the world what he is capable of”.
