Fostering Urban Destination Prosperity through Post COVID-19 Sustainable Tourism in Craiova, Romania

Abstract

In accordance with the 2030 Agenda, the prosperity of tourist destinations holds a crucial role in the sustainable development of urban areas. Tourism represents an imperative solution in transitioning from survival to success after the COVID-19 pandemic. The stakeholders in the field should introduce new tourism forms that enable a more comprehensive strategy for managing and developing responsible tourism, bringing into focus new skills, resources, and levels for change to develop resilience, urban community satisfaction, and the unique intrinsic attraction of each tourist destination in Romania. This study develops a model of prosperity for urban tourist destinations, which can be applied to medium-large cities in Romania. We propose for the city of Craiova the use and identification of four spheres of sustainability, which in turn have a set of 17 indicators. The research method used to determine the indicators has two stages: (1) the analysis of the specialized literature to identify the appropriate indicators for an urban destination and (2) statistical analyzes and interviews with internal stakeholders (residents), which present their tourist perspective of the city. This article tackles an innovative concept, called prosperity and innovation in Craiova tourism, which can be implemented in all tourism niches and brings new development perspectives that correspond to the norms of sustainable development and their direction towards sustainability. The article addresses the concept of prosperity in tourism and contains information about: the definition of prosperity, the concept of prosperity (an engine of innovation in tourism and its implications), but also perspectives for a prosperous tourism policy in Craiova tourism.