Closely Watched Tourism: The Securitate as Warden of Transnational Encounters, 1967-69 (original) (raw)

While we can debate about the geopolitics of a country, region, problem or situation, etc., then why not discuss about tourism in a particular country, which is at some point amid internal or external ''rivalries''. There are numerous examples, but why not also talking about Romania as a ''tourist destination'' on the same terms or parameters!? .... The historical, economic and political features of Romania as well as its positioning in a ,, geopolitical tectonically active'' area confirms its status of European country with geopolitical and geostrategic importance, but also with an inefficient using of tourism potential. We are in the middle of regional ''stakes'', we have internal and external ''rivalries'' with the neighboring countries, but also lack of good economic or political relations with a negative impact on the increasingly uncertain context! The concept of '' Geopolitics of Tourism'', dated from the 1980's, is a global geopolitical trend of thought from which we can draw a number of factors that make correct use of tools and methods of the geopolitical analysis in specific cases from a country, for a national or regional issue with impact on tourism as a stake in the future. The subject should be treated as the geopolitics of the ''mass tourism of the middle class'', which is fundamentally different from a classical geopolitical analysis. Tourism is no longer just a leisure activity or a dynamic social phenomenon in expansion, but it has become an axis of credibility and also a geopolitical stake, which cannot be underestimated. The used parameters of geopolitical analysis are based on: country, land surface, relief, population, settlements, economy, politics, influence factors and last but not least, national tourism (as a priority economic branch), but generally, they are moved towards internal geopolitical issues, specific to the country. The ultimate goal of the geopolitical and safety analysis is to identify the vulnerabilities and measures to counter potential risks, actually the development of specific safety standards and also creating new skills in tourism. A safe environment for investments, staff or infrastructure ensures the performance of national tourism, but also a good image of the country. The Geopolitics of Tourism in Romania, as a first approach, aims at the implementation of an analysis of geopolitical situations, adapted and grafted to the existing national tourism heritage, without being considered, necessarily, a ''reference work'', but only a start in the field.