Romania is keen to develop ties with the Philippines in the area of tourism as it expressed its interest in helping promote its emerging destinations, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Wednesday.

The support was conveyed during a meeting between Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco and Romanian Ambassador to the Philippines Răduţa Dana Matache on Oct. 24.

“We as diplomats, we are very delighted, amazed by the beauty of the country because as much as you hear about [elsewhere] you don’t quite understand the particulars. So we would like to do something to help promote parts of this country that are not well-known, which amaze us,” Matache said.

The envoy floated the idea of setting up a booth at the upcoming Romania National Day to promote Iloilo City, which she had a chance to visit during the Dinagyang Festival.

Frasco, for her part, extended her gratitude to the Romanian Embassy in Manila and looked forward to forging close collaboration with the country.

“We are always open to collaborations with other governments, especially in service of our intention to grow Philippine tourism in terms of our international arrivals as well as the exploration of new and not-yet-fully-explored markets,” she said.

“We find that, of course, our ambassadors are quite helpful in this intention, and we look forward to working with you especially in exploring how we may be able to bring in more citizens from your country to the Philippines,” she added.

Frasco said this promotional activity would also serve as an opportunity for cultural exchange for Romania’s citizens in the country to “also get to know our culture, by way of our products, traditions, and festivals”.

Romania and the Philippines established formal diplomatic relations in 1972, with their two-way tourism expected to further grow as global travel slowly returns to normal following the coronavirus pandemic.

From January to September 2023 alone, the 4,280 visitors from Romania to the Philippines already surpassed the 2022 arrival figures at 2,656.

In addition to tourism, trade in services is expected to take off in the coming years as Romanian businessmen are interested in the Philippines’ BPO sector. (PNA)