BALNEARY TOURISM TRENDS BEFORE AND AFTER COVID-19 PANDEMIC. CASE STUDY: BALNEARY RESORTS IN THE VÂLCEA SUBCARPATHIANS

Abstract

The tourist area of Vâlcea Subcarpathians includes numerous elements of the natural setting, ethnographic elements, historical and cultural aspects. The period 2019-2021 was marked by the Covid 19 pandemic, a particularly serious virus that affected all of humanity, including related economic activities. In the field of tourism, the Covid pandemic primarily affected tourist accommodation and public catering units and implicitly employees in the field. The particularly harsh restrictions resulted in high maintenance costs of the activity, the unemployment of employees, operation at reduced capacity and even the closure of some of the units (especially small units). Unfortunately, solutions were found for only a low percentage of these problems. The purpose of the study is to highlight the mineral  potential of the region, the effects of the pandemic on accommodation capacity, but also on patients, as well as the measures that are being taken to remedy the existing situation. A series of indicators (economic and touristic) were analyzed, based on which an attempt was made to determine the degree of adaptability of the spa resorts to the changes that occurred in the context of the pandemic crisis, as well as what was the impact on tourist activities and spa treatment services.