Tourists avoid the Danube Delta after drone alerts. The mayor of Tulcea asks for a “friendlier” Ro-Alert: “People are scared”
Drone alerts scare tourists and cause them to avoid the Danube Delta and Tulcea county, claims Mayor Ștefan Ilie, who says he asked the central authorities that the warnings be sent “in a friendlier way”, only in areas that are actually in danger.
Tourists are starting to bypass the Danube Delta. PHOTO: Shutterstock
The approach to the war in Ukraine is beginning to leave increasingly visible traces on tourism in Tulcea county, and those who feel the full effects are the Horeca industry operators.
According to the mayor of Tulcea, Ștefan Ilie, the drone alerts sent in the area scare tourists and cause them to abandon their planned vacations in the Danube Delta, a natural reaction, moreover, considering the proximity to the war across the border.
“This situation affects (tourism and the HORECA industry – no). It's the worst, but I also understand the tourists. We probably wouldn't go anywhere near the Gaza Strip either. Even when it was near Egypt, we didn't go there. We don't go to Dubai anymore. If a Romanian here has learned about the alert, a tourist, especially if there are also foreigners, when he receives the alarm, he executes it. He also sends it to his friends, gives it further. It affected us the most,” said the mayor during an event organized by ANAT, in partnership with the Tulcea Municipality Destination Management Organization, to promote the area as a tourist destination.
“Friendlier” alarms
In an attempt to reduce the effects on tourism, local authorities have asked the Government and institutions responsible for emergency management to change the way warning messages are issued.
More precisely, the Tulcea City Hall and the Destination Management Organization requested that the alerts be transmitted strictly in the areas at risk, to avoid unnecessary panic of people tens of kilometers away.
Ștefan Ilie says that, currently, the warnings sometimes reach the entire county, although the danger could only affect certain localities.
“I made a request to the relevant ministries, to those that manage emergency situations, that these alerts be issued in a more friendly way, depending on the areas that are actually in danger. If the drone is in the Tulcea area, those from Murighiol should stop receiving it, and if it is in the Chilia area, those from Tulcea should also stop receiving it. People were initially open, (…) but later they said that they had no way, because we are in a state of war. You also came here, in Tulcea, in the midst of war, and if you are going to convey that we are a well-defended country, that there is no danger, as long as we are in NATO, of having an armed conflict on Romania's territory, maybe we will be able to grow, until there is peace, because it affected us and affects us a lot”. explained the mayor, quoted by Agerpres.
Although he acknowledges the negative effects on tourism, the mayor says that the situation generated by the war has also accelerated some investments in infrastructure. The intense traffic of goods through the county contributed to obtaining some funding for the modernization of the roads, even if many locals complain about the time lost in the truck queues to Constanța or Bucharest.
“These are the arguments that helped us to obtain funding for the restoration of the infrastructure through a locality where no one passed, there were no fences. The intense traffic causes discomfort, but it brings economic development. It creates opportunities for industrial parks, for retail areas. I would like the traffic to increase continuously even if the war ends. We should have the infrastructure to receive, because we will earn more and more, and it is good that some routes are being formed. these routes remain”, mayor Ștefan Ilie also stated.
On the other hand, he also says, the Romanian state should grant additional facilities to the counties located in the proximity of the conflict in Ukraine, to compensate for economic losses and stimulate investments, stating that the measures should be aimed at supporting micro-businesses, developing infrastructure and attracting local investments.
