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THE IMPACT OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT ON THE NATURAL AND ANTHROPIC ENVIRONMENT OF THE SINAIA RESORT
Elena BOGAN
Lecturer PhD, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography, Bucharest, Romania, e-mail: elena.bogan@yahoo.com
Ioana Cătălina UDREA
MA student, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography, Bucharest, Romania, e-mail:
udrea_catalina34@yahoo.com
Elena GRIGORE
Assistant PhD, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Geography, Bucharest, Romania, e-mail:
ela_zigzag@hotmail.com
ABSTRACT
The dynamics of the registered tourist flows, at both global and every country level has determined the local stakeholders and private
investors to develop new solutions in order to meet the demands imposed by the tourism market. The entire mechanism for adapting
the natural environment and the already built space to the new tourist requirements, for the economic development, cause some
imbalances in the local territorial system. The evolution trends of the built space, in accordance with the dynamics of the tourist
phenomenon in Sinaia resort, are presented in the present study. The main purpose of this research is to know the particularities, the
potential, the restrictions and future directions of the resort evolution and also of thelocal community inSinaia. The research results
reflect the need for cooperation between the people, the governing bodies and the business companies in the area so that the zonal
stability and development of the local economyand also of the community in the study areamight be achieved.
KEYWORDS
tourism, negative impact, positive impact, environment, anthropic environment,mountain resort.
1. INTRODUCTION
Services are a basic component of the tertiary sector and play an extremely important role in the economy of each country, even
though the activities within this branch differ as a degree of development from one area to another. ’New economic theories
reconsider the role of services in the economic development, reviewing the growth perspectives, so that some countries have begun
to focus on the service sector’ (Dinu A.M, 2017). Globally, it can be noticed that in the countries with a high level of development, the
workforce is largely in the tertiary sector, which includes services as well (Ionca M., 2000). The new tourist destinations, in order to
maintain their very good positions in the world hierarchy, strongly emphasize the high level of the public and private services, of the
moderate taxes and duties, the flexible and professionist workforce, the access to modern technology, the multiple and serious
partnerships.
At global level, the tourism and travels are some of the most dynamic economic activities, generating flows of tourists, jobs and
important revenue for the states that capitalize on their resources through investment. The 2018 Economic Impact - The World
Travel & Tourism Council indicates that the tourist activities generate over 118 million jobs (https://www.wttc.org). At European level,
according to the data provided by Eurostat, in 2014, the tourism industry recorded 2.3 million economic agents, themajority being of
small and medium size (World Tourism Organization, 2018).
In Romania, the tourism sector occupies an important import position in the economy, being estimated that in 2014, it generated
about 150.000 employees, representing 1.6% of the country's workforce (Dinu A.M, 2017).
For the mountain regions and resorts, there are some common features related to the trend of the intensive development, the
existence of a mass tourism, the focus on the winter sports. The impact aspects are related to the infrastructure density, the
multiplication of the access roads in the detriment of the natural ecosystems, the change of local microclimates and the extension of
the artificial snow, plant and forest vegetation losses, the landscape degradation and the erosion of land, the waste and wastewater
management.
The first tourist activities in the mountainous, at European level, were registered in the Alps, in the 13th century, this area being
considered one of the most desired tourist areaof the English aristocrats (Debarbieux B. et al., 2014).The interest in nature and
especially in the mountain region has grown with the expansion of the cities, as well as of the transport. In this context, thepeople
wanted to escape as close as possible to the natural environment, building their permanent or holiday residences, thus, populating
the mountain landscape more and more.
An example of thelarge development of the tourism activities during the winter season was identified in the Austrian resorts: ’more
and more skiing resorts closely co-operate or even merge. (...) in the skiing region of Kitzbühel in Tyrol, where more than 30
communities with 241 ski lifts, covering 676 kilometers of slopes, and 172 mountain restaurants have joined forces’ (Meyer-Cech K.,
Probstl U., 2013). Such collaborations, development and planning of the leisure infrastructure can be adopted in the case of the
neighboring resorts of Sinaia.
The mountain resorts must be fitted for the adventure tourism activities in order to meet a variety of touristic motivations as
destination. The increasing role of leisure in the tourist localities of the study area is necessary in order to ensure the
competitiveness of the tourist resorts and to meet the needs of the tourists, leading to new types of holidays: ski holiday, climbing,
mountain-biking, endurotourism, horse riding, paragliding etc. (Bogan E. et al, 2017).
2. STUDY AREA
At national level, taking into account the extension of the Carpathian chain, the mountains are an extremely important resource for
the tourism industry. ’With their fresh air, unique landscapes and wildlife, picturesque beauties, rich cultural heritage and recreational
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opportunities that the mountains offer today, they are attractive as places to escape of the stressing urban spaces and are a magnet
for tourists’ (Panov N., Taleska M., Dimeska H., 2013).
An extremely attractive area for the tourist flows is the Prahova Valley and especially the town of Sinaia, located at the foot of the
Bucegi Mountains (West) and the Baiu Mountains (East) (Figure 1).
Source: The authors
Figure 1. The localisation of Sinaia town in Romania
The town developed as a mountain resort since the end of the 19th century, at the same time with the construction of the Peleș
Castle. Subsequently, the Romanian nobles built their vacation homes within the town, and shortly after, Sinaia was considered a
luxurious spa resort, which included hotels, over 100 villas, two casinos, shops, restaurants, a zoo garden and hydrotherapy baths
(http://www.primaria-sinaia.ro/date-istorice/). Due to the increase of thenumber of tourists passionate of the winter sports and
mountain expeditions, in the surroundings of Sinaia, the first natural landscape development initiatives dedicated to the outdoor
activities have beentaken.
3. METHODOLOGY
Taking into account the dynamics of the tourism activities manifested at both global and national levels, and of the changes that this
phenomenon brings at territorial level, this study aims to synthesize and also present, the entire tourist process that takes place in
Sinaia. Thus, following the development of a territory diagnosis, the analysis is focused on the processes and elements that generate
imbalances in the environment, or which threaten the local economy. The study aims to present the current socio-economic situation
of the territory, in order to underline the risks to which the space is subjected, and then to highlight the specific problems and the
causes of their production.
The research methodology of the tourism impact on the study area was based on: the analysis, processing and interpretation of the
relevant statistical data, the mapping, as well as the study of a specialized literature for the study area, the consultation of the public
documents and the field research. The interdisciplinary character of the approachedtopic has required the use of the interdisciplinary
methods, from the purely geographic to the economic and statistical ones, in order to analyze not only as accurately as possible, but
also as most grounded of the analyzed processes and phenomena.
The basis of the analysis is the processing of the cartographic data, plus the statistical data taken from the National Institute of
Statistics (http://www.insse.ro/cms/). The field observations have also been made in order to correlate the existing cartographic
material and the statistical data obtained with the reality and to know the smallest details of the analyzed phenomena.
4. THE TOURISM PHENOMENON AT THE LEVEL OF SINAIA TOWN
The presentation of the tourism phenomenon at the level of Sinaia resort is extremely important for understanding the impact it
represents, both on the natural environment and on the anthropic one. Tourism is putting pressure on the natural and cultural
environment, affecting the resources, the social structures, the cultural models, the economic activities and the land use in the local
communities (Final report - Defining, measuring and evaluating carrying capacity in European tourism destinations, 2001).
Since the last century, the town of Sinaia has been developing mainly on the basis of the tourism activities. According to the
structure of the economic agents operating in Sinaia (Figure 2), it is evident that the largest number of people employed is in the
hotel and restaurant sector. The largest number of the economic agents operates in the hotel and restaurant sector.
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In the recent years, through the technical improvements and by addressing new territorial marketing strategies, there has been a
substantial increase in the number of tourists visiting the town of Sinaia. The most important evolution of the number of arrivals is
recorded after 2015 (Figure 3), reaching 293,408 arrivals in 2017. The upward trajectory of the number of arrivals is also supported
by the many socio-cultural events of the last few years in the town that have attracted many tourists.
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5
40
3
55
33
31
66
8
14
10
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Commerce, autovehicle and motocycles repair
Hotels and restaurants
Professional, scientific and technical activities
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
Manufacturing industry
Water distribution, sanitation; Waste management, decontamination
activities
Transport and storage
Administrative service activities and support services activities
Information and communication
Constructions
Finance intermediations and insurances
Cultural and leisure show activities
Other service activities
Other types of activities
Source: The Sustainable Development Strategy of Sinaia town 2016-2020
Figure 2. The structure of the economic agents, depending on the field of activity (2015)
Source of data: National Institute of Statistics
Figure 3. The evolution of the number of tourist arrivals in the tourist accommodation establishments (2003-2017)
The number of overnight stays in the accommodation units in Sinaia (Figure 4) is growing, ever since 2014, a phenomenon that
continues till now. This situation reveals that Sinaia is a more and more demanding and increasingly busy resort during the year.
High values of the number of overnight stays in a year are due to the fact that the resort has a permanent operating regime. Several
socio-cultural events take place during the summer season, and during the cold season, many tourists visit the resort for practicing
the winter sports.
Source of data: National Institute of Statistics
Figure 4. The evolution of the number of overnight stays of the tourists in the tourist accommodation units
(2003-2017)
The double seasonality of the resort is supported, on the one hand, by the existence of the tourist attractions with cultural valences,
represented by monuments, historical buildings with special architecture, museums and, of course, thanks to the Peleș Complex
(Figure 5 and 6), known worldwide, all of these being elements of interest for the travelers visiting them, especially in summer.
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As mentioned above, the existence of the buildings with special architecture contributes to the permanent attraction of the tourist
flows as it contributes to the rapid identification of the town or of a territory, thus, reminding people of events, periods, local culture,
but not least of the historical personalities in relation to that space. The link between the architectural uniqueness, the surrounding
landscape, the historical and cultural valences of an area provide identity and welfare to the local community (Scerri M., Edwards D.,
Foley C., 2016). In other words, capitalizing on the local architectural emblems will lead to an increase in the tourist flows for a given
area, which will bring a significant local economic growth.
Source: The authors
Figure 5.The Peleș Castle Figure 6.The Pelișor Castle
In this context, the town of Sinaia is distinguished by a wide variety of architectural styles, from Brâncoveanu to the Neo-Romanian
influences, Renaissance-German, Art Déco, Fin de Siècle, interwar or the Chalet elements. The beauty and uniqueness of these
architectural monuments attract hundreds of thousands of tourists every year.
On the other hand, the intensive development of the winter sports facilities (Figure 7), through the existence of 16 ski slopeswith
different difficulty levels and 4 ski trails, fitted with transport equipment (ski lifts, chair lift, cable car and gondola lift), snow cannons
and night lightingsupport the tourist activities in the winter season, attracting many practitioners.
Source: https://www.sinaiago.ro/partii
Figure 7. The skiing area of Sinaia resort (the Bucegi Mountains)
In the modern tourism, certain quality standards are imposed, which must be obeyed so that the satisfaction degree of the tourist to
be positive and make the tourist want to return to the destination. Leisure and adventure tourism, in particular, are among the means
of retain the tourists, the leisure can become a tool to exploit the tourism potential of a region (Bogan E. et al, 2017).
Tourism should be conceived as a balancing factor between the host communities, their people and their habits, and the holiday
offerers and the tourism industry. Basically, the positive impact of this type of tourism will depend on the organization, the planning of
the settlements with tourist potential and on the variety, the quality of the tourism services that can be offered.
5. THE IMPACT OF TOURISM DEVELOPMENT ON THE NATURAL AND ANTHROPIC ENVIRONMENT
The urban ecosystem is constantly changing, both in terms of the numerical evolution of the population and of the expansion of the
urban area. Sinaia has transformed its territorry over time, and there were not always taken into account the principles of the
sustainable and baanced development. The spatial planning has an important role in ensuring the development of a sustainable
tourism along with the initiatives designed to reduce the transaction costs, the adoption of responsible behavior which can maintain
the integrity of the local culture, of the environment and the community development (Risteski, Kocevski and Arnaudov, 2012; Lan,
Wu and Lee, 2012).
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The tourist activities are concentrated spatially and seasonally (Meyer-Cech K., Probstl U., 2013) and this situation generates certain
problems related to the degree of anthropisation, as well as the way of the land use, especially of the urban area. In terms of
topography, Sinaia resort is located in a valley area created by the Prahovariver, at the base of the Bucegi Mountains (West) and the
Baiu Mountains (in the East) on a length of about 10 km and a maximum width of about 3 km, this indicating that the space that
allows the development within the urban area is limited. The largest limits, in terms of geodeclivity, are imposed in the Eastern part of
the resort because the slopes are very steep, in the immediate vicinity of the town (Figure 8).
Source: The authors
Figure 8. Sustainable areas for constructions depending on the slopes
Due to the extension restrictions imposed by the natural frame, a high density of the construction and transport (Figure 9) is
observed in the central part of the resort.
Source: The authors
Figure 9. Density of transport network
The evolution of the built space within the resort is due to the growth of the residences belonging to the private property and of the
receiving structures. The increase in the number of the reception structures (Figure10) can be explained, on one hand, by the high
demand for accommodation, and on the other hand due to the cost-use factor.
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Source of data: National Institute of Statistics
Figure 10.The evolution of the number of tourist accommodation structures with functions of tourist accommodation by types of
structures (2004-2018)
The cost-use factor influences the investor by the fact that an old building, even if it enjoys certain historical valences, it requires too
high costs for rehabilitation, but it can not assimilate the endowments and technical equipment required by the market in order to
meet all the needs of the tourists. In certain situations, the buildings of cultural or historical importance may impose restrictions on
renovation or rehabilitation. Thus, in order to meet the needs of the tourist market, as well as to reduce costs, in Sinaia, as in other
European resorts, new accommodation units were built. Their modern appearance complements the requirements imposed by the
tourists, as well as the technolological endowments with which the accommodation units are equipped (figure 11-14).
Figure 11.Hotel New Montana Hotel Figure 12.Rina SinaiaHotel
Source: The authors
Figure 13. International Hotel Figure 14. AndaHotel
Despite the local economic benefits resulting from the growth of tourism, the tourist traffic within Sinaia is growing and leads to the
development of an extremely high pressure over the area. The number of tourists and the extending of the period of stays determine
the increase of thenumber of units. This phenomenon, in turn, causes constructions which overload the land, degrades the
appearance of the historic buildings, pollution, and exert a great deal of pressure on the local population. Thisovercomes the
maximum capacity of accomodation by the tourist pressure with direct impact on the landscape and on other attractions with a wrong
capitalization, thus, leading to a series of negative effects (Gogonea RM, et al., 2017).
The phenomenon caused the overcrowding and overloading of the space with buildings, to which the risk of abandonment of the old
buildings in favour of the exploitation of the modern ones has also added (Figure 15 and 16).
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Source: The authors
Figure 15. Uninhabited house (M•n•stirii Street) Figure 16 Construction of new accommodation units (Codrului Way)
The overcrowding with construction (Figure 17) is visible in the central area of the town, where a large density of buildings is
recorded in a small space. This situation causes geomorphological, landscape, environmental and social problems. The
geomorphological problems are due to the pressure exerted on the soil and when this factor exceeds the environmental support
capacity, the area being affected by the phenomena of compaction, destabilization of the slopes and the increase of the flood risk
(Olariu B., 2014). The landscape issues are related to the degradation of the visual appearance of the resort, also by joining modern
buildings in the immediate vicinity of the old buildings, plus the phenomenon of successive abandonment of both old and new
buildings. The intensification of the tourist flows within the resort contributes to the degradation of the environment. The resort faces
the problem of the waste abandoned by tourists, the increaseddegradation of the air quality through the chemical pollution
determined by the intense transport of the personal vehicles in the resort, but also the sound pollution caused by the existence of a
large number of tourists throughout the year is also added.
Source: The authors
Figure 17.The spatial distribution of the accomodation units in accordance with the comfort
The social problem arises when the local population of the resort feels the pressure given by the intensification of the tourist
movement, by the change of the original land use, by the rise in prices for different products and so on. It comes to the situation
where ’the inhabitants competes with those who temporarily visit the city (tourists, visitors, commuters, migrant workers) for the use
of space and services. The competition takes place, especially, when using buildings due to the increased demand fornon-residential
use. As there is an excess of demand, it generates higher prices in the real estate and product markets, which leads to an increase
in the cost of living. Tourism can help improving the economic and social conditions of some of the residents, but it can also cause
an increase in environmental issues’ (Montanari A., Barbara S., 2010).
In the periods of maximum tourist season, the continued growth in the flow of the tourists and the tourism development by the
growing number of accomodation units has led to the assault of the environment through: wastewater from the tourist facilities;
pollutants and noise from transport (cars in transit); pollutant emissions from the local thermal power plants; vandalism and
destructive behaviour towards the heritage values. The impact is manifested by the discomfort caused by pollution on the natural
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areas, plus the visual and landscape discomfort generated by the natural environment aggression; the discomfort supported by the
local community subjected to the aggression of an unorganized tourism.
As a result of the accelerated development of tourism in the recent decades, the issue of respecting the balance between the tourist
demand and its capacity to absorb it by the environment has arisen; the natural environmental factors are the ones that create
attraction for tourists; if the forests, parks and natural reserves, lakes and rivers, then the cultural centers, the historical and
architectural monuments are exceeded in terms of the maximum visitor capacity, the touristic quality, but also their natural,
architectural-historical attributes that generate the attraction are damaged in time and space.
At the level of tourism, there must exist mechanisms for the gradual reduction of pollution and for diminishing, in time and space, the
impacts. They have the role of reducing the uncertainty and the arbitrariness in managing the entire natural and cultural heritage at
medium and long term. In order to achieve this goal, a specific process that includes the following elements is recquired:
• the identification of the impacts and their consequences;
• the quantification, qualitative and quantitative of the impacts;
• the implementation of a medium to long-term action plan;
• the implementation of mitigation measures;
• the monitoring of the results and setting new targets.
All the forms of impacts interact with each other and lead to the formation of multiple effects with greater or lesser environmental
consequences. Each formula for expanding the tourism can cause negative consequences in managing the environment.
Therefore, the sustainable development of tourism must take into account the economic, social and environmental impacts that it can
have at present and in the future, which means an active and reasonable partnership among all parties involved in the harmonious
development of the tourism (Waligo et al., 2013).
CONCLUSIONS
The intensification of the tourist flows in Sinaia has determined the local decision-makers, as well as the private investors to develop
new mechanisms for adapting the space to the new requirements. Thus, the local authorities organize, periodically, socio-cultural
events and the private investors have focused on planning and developing the infrastructure necessary for the tourism activities, all
of these determining the increase of the tourist flows from one year to another. However, through the uncontrolled dynamics of the
urban space and of the activities carried out, the environment is the subject to a permanent stress, which can cause economic
regression over time.
The tourism, as an economic activity, can cause considerable environmental demages, especially if these activities are not properly
performed. On the other hand, the tourism can bring great benefits. The pressures of tourism grow rapidly, so the natural and
anthropic space with tourism potential are becoming more and more available for the population, for one day visits, sports and even
long lasting tourism for Sinaiaresort. If the tourism is correctly planned and managed to be sustainable, it can be a very positive
force, bringing benefits at both the natural spaces and the local communities. Tourism can help to justify the establishment of the
protected areas and it may lead to a revival of the local community from economic, social and cultural point of view.
*Author Contributions: All authors have equal contribution to the preparation of this scientific paper.
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