RESEARCH REGARDING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRITOURISM IN THE NEIGHBOURING AREA OF COZIA NATIONAL PARK, ROMANIA

摘要

The work was performed based on the research undertaken over a period of more than 20 years on the activity ofagritourism and rural tourism in Oltenia, aimed at the touristic and agritourist potential of the neighbouring andprotected area of Cozia National Park. Through careful research and SWOT analysis, it was concluded that the studiedarea possesses a very rich and valuable touristic and anthropic potential, which presently has not been sufficientlyutilized. Furthermore, a veritable capacity of attracting tourists was discovered through large quasi-virgin areas, ofgreat originality and variability, which have suffered almost no human intervention. These areas enjoy a rich flora andfauna with unique species in Europe and a relatively large number of touristic attractions and monuments of nature,included on the list of UNESCO world heritage. The research clearly underlines the impact of industrial tourism overtime, on the natural and anthropic environment, realising that almost all of its components have been reversibly orirreversibly affected. The final conclusion is that the only viable option of agritourism and tourism that can be practicedin the area of National Parks is based on the principle of ecologic sustainability, which would not damage the naturaland built environment and would have a favourable impact on the economic and social-cultural life. In this paper, aseries of general recommendations are clearly formulated, on the implementation, strategies, policies, directions andobjectives of development of this form of tourism.