Analyzing the Development Possibilities of the Mountain Area of Banat, Caras-Severin County

Abstract

A county such as Caras-Severin in the mountain area of Banat, with extraordinary natural tourism potential, has a real chance for tourism development only under the conditions of a strong economy and an infrastructure that facilitates and supports tourism activity. In turn, tourism, as an economic activity generating jobs and new added value, must contribute, through feedback, to the general economic development of the county. This research offers a case study on the possibilities of tourism development of these areas by exploiting the available natural and anthropic potential. The economic and social development of such a county, including from a tourism point of view, is strictly linked to the general economic development and evolution of Romania, both in the national and international context. To position the contribution of tourism to the development of Caras-Severin County as correctly as possible, we briefly present the general economic situation, including tourism, of Romania, by comparing it with the neighboring and, at the same time, competing countries from a tourism point of view—Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia,—as well as with counties in Romania similar to Caras-Severin County. In terms of its general economic development level, Caras-Severin County is among the least developed counties in the country. In this situation, the development of specific forms of tourism is justified to contribute to the economic development of the area.