More than 75 speakers from 15 countries, including guests of honor, representatives of state institutions, diplomatic corps and other relevant organizations in the field, joined in the Moldova Tourism Forum 2021, a premiere event in the Republic of Moldova dedicated to the tourism industry. They expressed their appreciation to the tourism actors in our country, who, regardless of the challenges, managed to position our country as an emerging tourist destination and to launch new campaigns to promote this sector.
Moldova Tourism Forum 2021, event organized by the Investment Agency of the Republic of Moldova, together with its strategic partner USAID Moldova, aims to reconnect our country to the global tourism flow, providing strategies and usefull information about tourism relaunching tools.
The first day of the forum brought together over 400 registered people from countries such as Mexico, South Korea, Thailand, Canada, Norway, as well as from neighbor countries, Ukraine, Romania, Italy and Turkey. They attended panel discussions on new tourism promoting strategies, digitized tools and promotion techniques, while being consulted on tourists’ attracting possibilities in the post-pandemic background.
Rodica Verbeniuc, General Manager of the Investment Agency: “The pandemic restrictions, closed borders, travel limitation and the lack of safe feeling for tomorrow have had a dramatic impact on local tourism. However, we are proud to say that our entrepreneurs have proven to be resilient and have managed to turn restrictions into opportunities. The courage, unlimited energy and hard work they put in to run their businesses contributed to the sector restructuring, which became diversified, competitive and ready for the next stage, where it will be able to receive international visitors when international traffic will be restored. Our forum aims to boast the tourism sector, giving representatives the opportunity to share their visions, discuss global trends and best practices, but also regional initiatives that are an example of long-term development.
The event was attended by the interim Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Aureliu Ciocoi, who underlined the importance of supporting the tourism sector by state institutions.
Aureliu Ciocoi, Interim Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova: “Moldova Tourism Forum 2021 is a good opportunity to promote the domestic and foreign tourism industry in the Republic of Moldova, as well as to motivate and appreciate human capital, small and medium enterprises, which support daily sustainable sector development. We are currently at the last elaboration stage of the National Tourism Development Program "Tourism-2025".
The general purpose of the Program is the development of the Republic of Moldova as a sustainable and competitive tourist destination, which will bring social and environmental benefits to local communities and future generations.
Sweden has been one of the development partners providing financial and technical assistance in this sector for many years. Anna Lyberg, Ambassador of Sweden in the Republic of Moldova, guest of honor at the event, expressed her appreciation for the results obtained by our companies from the tourism industry. "Sweden is proud to support the tourism sector during the pandemic, both by online interactive digital experiences with virtual tours of monasteries, wineries, and digital tourism campaigns in Moldova, which has reached over 5 million travelers. I want to express my support for the cooperation and dialogue between the Government of the Republic of Moldova and the representatives of the tourism industry to find solutions, overcome the crisis, as well as develop new strategies for the future of tourism.
Scott Hocklander, head of the USAID Mission in the Republic of Moldova, highlighted digitalisation as the inbound tourism relaunching key and assured that the organization he represents will continue to support our country in this regard: "Tourist destinations around the world are adapting their strategies to face the side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and now is the proper time for Moldova to do the same. To this end, USAID assisted the Government of the Republic of Moldova in developing a new National Plan for the Development of Tourism in Moldova, in order to have, by 2026, a future-oriented path. The new strategy focuses on interactive tourism experiences, while developing the tourism infrastructure and stimulating innovation ”.
The organized awards gala for national tourism ambassadors was a premiere for the Republic of Moldova. It aimed to support actors in the inbound and outbound tourism industry, motivate and appreciate human capital, small and medium size enterprises and all industry representatives.
The participans were awarded according to the number of new businesses launched during the pandemic, entrepreneurial initiative and the way they managed to adjust the tourist offer and adapt it to the new realities offering innovative solutions and digitizing tourist services in the framework of the pandemic year.
At the Top 2020 Launches category , there were awarded the following tourist brands:
The Old House Guesthouse, Honey Mansion, Meșter Faur Guesthouse, Mircești Winery, Tudor Winery, Leuntea Wine, Fuior Gourmet, Gastromarket & Cáfe, Marcu Bakery.
The representatives were given a voucher worth 5,000 lei to develop promotional materials and increase their rating among tourists who choose the Republic of Moldova as their destination.
The event is supported by the Moldova Competitiveness Project, funded by USAID Moldova, the Government of Sweden and the United Kingdom.