TOURISTIC POTENTIAL, MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE RARĂU MASSIF

Abstract

As a socio-economic activity, tourism is strongly influenced by numerous factors that determine the size and direction of tourist flows. Mountain tourism is no exception; the mountainous land relief, which generates this type of tourism, possesses a large array of factors which, by definition, represent true attractions for tourists (morphometric elements, types and landforms, oxygen-rich air, specific flora and fauna), but also several factors that may inhibit tourist activity proper (development capacity, climate, natural phenomena hazards).In particular, with reference to the Rarău Massif, we shall emphasize its tourist potential, especially the geomorphologic one, but we shall also highlight the evolution and the present state of infrastructure (accommodation facilities, tourist paths). The cartographic analysis and representation were obtained using dedicated software, generically called Geographic Informatics Systems (GIS), and a social research method as well – the questionnaire. As such, our research features several maps that highlight the differentiated land relief potential as well as the potential resulted from the application of questionnaires, thus bringing into the foreground the areas with maximal morphologic attractiveness and implicitly potential for tourist activity. In order to make the most of the entire massif and to diversify tourist routes we propose new itineraries with a view to covering the entire area more effectively and offering new exploration variants for the massif. The applied questionnaire proves the connection between the tourist potential of land relief and tourists’ perceptions of the tourist sights in the Rarău Massif.