Alina Oprea • 28 June, 2023 at 4:00 PM
Romania has a new ecotourism destination: Vama Buzăului, a locality located at the foot of the Ciucaș Mountains, which has just obtained the recognition of the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism (MEAT). The certification was granted after verifying the fulfillment, in the field, of the 100 eligibility criteria, provided for in the National Ecotourism Development Strategy (2019-2029). The checks were carried out by the commission made up of specialists from MEAT, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests, the National Institute for Tourism Research and Development, and the Romanian Ecotourism Association.
"I congratulate the local administration of Vama Buzăului for its firm commitment to promote sustainable tourism and initiatives to conserve and protect the environment! Moreover, this example of good practice, now on the list of ecotourism destinations in Romania, must be replicated by more and more localities that benefit from valuable cultural and natural heritage. In this way, we can build a sustainable future for all of us, but especially for the generations to come", declared the Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Ștefan Radu Oprea.
Vama Buzăului has thus become the eighth ecotourism destination in Romania, which benefits from MEAT recognition.
"The picturesque settlement invites you to discover, in full harmony with nature, the Valea Zimbrilor Reserve and the mountain trails that you can cover both on foot and by bike. Also here, in Vama Buzăului, traditional dishes are given pride of place. This explains the existence, in this place, of the most local gastronomic points in the whole country", the ministry also says.
The Ecotourism Destination concept has been developed since 2012 by the central public authority for tourism, in partnership with representative institutions and organizations at the national level (Ministry of the Environment, Water and Forests, the National Institute for Tourism Research and Development, and the Romanian Ecotourism Association), based on the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC) and the European Ecotourism Standard (EETLS).
At the time (2012), Romania was the first country in Europe to launch such a recognition system for ecotourism destinations.