The business behind the music

Newsroom 02/09/2013 | 08:36

Bucharest hotels alone cashed in some EUR 5 million during the 2011 George Enescu Festival, which brought an estimated 16,000 foreign tourists to the capital. This September will be music to the ears of local hotel and restaurant owners once more, as at least as many music lovers are expected to arrive in Bucharest.

By  Simona Bazavan

Demand for accommodation is up by between 15 and 20 percent this September compared to the same period last year and the George Enescu Festival is having a direct impact on the occupancy rate of the Howard Johnson Grand Plaza Bucharest hotel this month, Sonia Nastase, the hotel’s general manager, told BR.

Even without the festival, September is a peak month for the local hotel industry, and the festival makes it even more important. “Besides the musicians themselves, we’re seeing a growing number of art consumers from various social categories and all age groups,” Ema Banu, marketing & PR manager at Athenee Palace Hilton Bucharest, told BR.

The festival attracts an eclectic crowd of European, North American and Romanian music fans. The share of local guests goes up from an annual average of 25 percent to 30 percent. The average stay too rises to a minimum average of two nights, said Nastase.

Downtown hotels are the tourists’ first choice but they are not the only ones experiencing higher occupancy rates this month. “Due to the high occupancy in the city center, the general demand grows substantially in other parts of Bucharest,” Silvia Balan, public relations manager at Ramada Plaza Bucharest and Ramada Bucharest Parc, told BR.

The festival strikes the right note for both hotel and restaurant owners.

Music lovers coming to Bucharest this September will generate a 15 percent increase in sales compared to the same month last year, Jerry van Schaik, owner of the Rembrandt Hotel and managing partner of Grand Cafe Van Gogh and Beros & van Schaik Wine Bar in Bucharest’s old center, told BR. The hike is even more pronounced considering that September is already one of the best months of the year for the local hospitality industry in terms of revenues, as Bucharesters are returning home after the summer holiday and foreign businesspeople are resuming local activities, the Dutch investor pointed out. His three venues are running at full capacity in September, meaning that this month’s 15 percent increase is projected to come from higher bills. Tourists arriving at the Rembrandt Hotel come mostly from Northern European countries, are aged on average between 35 and 55 and stay in Bucharest for between four and five days.

In order to attract even more customers, restaurant owners are getting into the festival mood with special menus, offers and prizes. Such is the case of the La Mama restaurants, which will be providing customers with a festival journal featuring information about the life and career of George Enescu and rewarding diners with tickets to the festival, Catalin Mahu, owner of the La Mama and Cafepedia chain of restaurants, told BR.

But while the George Enescu Festival is a considerable revenue generator for hotels and restaurants, its impact on tourism in the capital could be even greater, say owners. Better promotion, organizing a greater number of related events or even holding the festival every year would help the local hospitality industry even more. “Without a doubt any festival the size of George Enescu Festival is a boost for local tourism. Usually, travel agencies abroad, with their partners in Romania, create special packages for this kind of event including tickets to the festival, airplane tickets, accommodation and some guided tours in Bucharest and elsewhere,” said Javier Garcia del Valle, CEO of Happy Tour Group.

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