Ecotourism 2027 – performance, recognition and branding at national and international level

Ecotourism destinations will have functional management teams, recognized by local, county, and regional partners, and will generate a destination brand owned by the local network of services and local authorities.
Improve destination tourism performance indicators (occupancy, length of stay, low seasonality) by attracting the right segments of tourists throughout the year.
Recognition of AER and the network of destinations by the governmental sector and the whole tourism industry as a professional representative for the entire ecotourism sector and small and medium-sized tourism enterprises in Romania.

Duration: 1^st of August 2023 – 31^st of July 2027
Budget: 380.000 USD
Funding Source: Romanian Partnership Foundation and the Romanian-American Foundation (RAF)
Coordinator: Andrei Blumer

Continuous monitoring of ecotourism network progress based on Trello, Skype chats and face-to-face meetings;
Physical and online meetings with each destination’s management team and stakeholders, at least once a year;
Annual meeting with all destinations to exchange experience and plan joint activities;
Assistance in strengthening the relationships with local, county, and regional partners (as well as in positioning the management team and the organisation within the DMO structures, at local, county and regional level);
Supporting local brand ownership by local partnership members;
Coordinating the evaluation process of tourism services according to the Eco-Romania certification system;
Increase the awareness of the network of ecotourism destinations and the Discover Eco-Romania initiative among the Romanian public;
Update, maintenance, and optimization of the eco-romania.ro platform based on the information received from the DMUs and on the recommendations of the SEO specialist;
Tourism monitoring and marketing assistance;
Participation in national and international trade fairs and promotional events;
Strengthen the relationship with national authorities in order to continue supporting ecotourism destinations;
Increase the awareness of the Discover Eco-Romania brand and destination network among national tourism associations.