DEVELOPMENTS OF THE ROMANIAN BALNEARY TOURISM AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 21st CENTURY

In recent decades, through its important social and economic effects, the balneary tourism has become a major international tourist market segment. Within it, important material and human resources are concentrated, with ever deeper involvement of science and technology in the provision of tourist and medical services with a complex and high-quality invoice. They are meant to meet the vital requirements of modern man, determined by the evolution of living conditions and the health of the population. The balneary tourism is the only form of tourism in our country based on a permanent potential highly complex, practically inexhaustible. Romania is among the European countries with a remarkable balneary fund. This value is accentuated by the complexity of the natural factors, namely, in the same resort, the main environmental factors are alongside a wide range of mineral substances for treatment, with beneficial polifactorial effects. The paper presents a brief analysis of the evolution and current situation of the Romanian spa tourism at national and regional level, as well as a quantitative analysis of the evolution of the attendance and occupancy of accommodation capacity, investments and new infrastructure and equipment, elements that can contribute to understand how this sector responded to the challenges.