Assessment upon Seasonality of Tourist Offer on the Romanian Seaside using the Paul Krugman's Core-Periphery Model

Seasonality is a specific problem of Romanian tourism, especially on the Black Sea seaside. Through a comprehensive approach, based on statistical data, we show the huge differences between the summer and the off-season offer, providing a starting point for future studies, both from official and field sources. The Krugman's Core-Periphery model clearly emphasizes that the development of a core neglects the periphery, and seasonality only accentuates its affectation until its complete abandonment, stagnation of development or regression. The impact of seasonality on the Romanian Black Sea seaside determines, to a certain extent, the development of egocentric poles, around which satellite-resorts are extremely dependent, their improvement requiring a research of all economic indicators involved. The development of the Northern Zone to the detriment of the Southern one has led to the emergence of extremely comprehensive results on the current situation, and the intense study of this area could reduce the socio-economic gap between them, being profitable for both private and public.

Tourism Potential Assessment Model of the Monasteries of the Ibar Cultural Tourism Zone

The aim of this study is to determine and highlight the tourism potentials of the Ibar cultural tourism zone monasteries, which is located in the southwest part of Serbia. In the assessment of tourism potential, a quantitative model consisting of two groups of indicators (resource values and state of development) conceived of seven sub-indicators that were ranked and evaluated by respondents in the field, was applied. The results of the study show that the total tourist potential of the Ibar cultural tourism zone is 0.756, which classifies it as an area with high potential. A substantial difference in grading can be noticed by comparing two groups of indicators. The value of the resource is 0.812, and the value of the development state is 0.700. The main value of the study is that for the first time, a model based on quantitative calculations is applied in order to determine the tourist potential of the Ibar cultural tourism zone monasteries. The study also highlights the advantages and disadvantages and contributes to better promotion and development of this area.

Arguments for empowering Southern Carpathians communities in sustainable forestry management based on a perception approach in selected areas

In Romania, the changes of the land fund occurring over the last decades due to land restitutions have led to some difficulties in the management of the marked forests and to excessive harvesting in all geographical areas, but especially in the Carpathian Mountains. Although these topics have been intensely publicized, the general reaction of the population and, implicitly, of the local communities, towards these signals has been week and isolated. Consequently, the study aims at examining the perception of local Carpathian communities, as actors involved in sustainable development, which are required to assume an active participation in the sustainable management (SFM) of the forests lying in the vicinity of residential areas. In order to accomplish this, an interview was applied in eight pilot areas from the Southern Carpathians. The results reveal that, regardless of education level, the respondents have a deep environmental knowledge about forest ecosystems, a perception in which the interest goes primarily to forest maintenance and only then to economic harvesting. The perception regarding the forests' condition, the activity of the administrators and the specific legislation is predominantly negative. In order to overcome the dysfunctions the members of local communities support legislation improvement, the increase of environmental awareness by education, being willing to get involved in a wide range of activities to enhance SFM. The study may be a useful tool for policy makers and for improving the activities by involving local population, which is the main target of SFM.