The Republic of Moldova will be promoted online through the national portal for tourism promotion, http://moldova.travel/ – a public-private partnership between the business environment in the field of inbound and domestic tourism, authorities and development partners, launched publicly this week. The new digital information resource opens the dialogue about Moldova as a tourist destination on international markets, with a showcase of cultural and tourist heritage and an effective tool for marketing and popularization of Moldova, made through the joint effort of the Moldova Competitiveness Project funded by USAID, Government of Sweden and the Government of the United Kingdom and the National Inbound and Domestic Tourism Association of Moldova (ANTRIM), in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Invest Moldova Agency.

The digital platform for promoting the country offers tourists a wide range of tourist destinations and experiences in the regions of Moldova, includes 16 interactive virtual tours throughout the country, 25 attractively described tourist routes, with maps and travel landmarks, including oeno-tourist routes, birdwatching, cycling and hiking itineraries, over 500 listed tourist attractions, as well as useful contacts for travel planning in the Republic of Moldova, all accessible in one place –  on this digital portal.

“The cultural-tourist heritage becomes accessible to tourists through this online resource and can convince them to become our guests. The tourist portal www.moldova.travel is unique in our country, through the informative and educational content, creatively visualized and will become a window to the Republic of Moldova for tourists, but also among locals. All the appreciation for the enormous effort of the private sector that developed this tourist portal, which we will use at the maximum for the promotion and development of tourism in the Republic of Moldova”, said Sergiu Prodan, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Moldova.

Moldova.Travel will contribute to the amplification of digital commerce in the tourism industry of the Republic of Moldova by increasing traffic to individual websites of rural pensions, wineries, tourist destinations, tour operators, 12 of which were developed with the support of the Moldova Competitiveness Project, funded by USAID, the Government of Sweden and the Government of the United Kingdom, and 8 web pages offer real-time online booking services with electronic payment system.

“For over a decade, USAID has been supporting the development of the tourism industry in Moldova. The business of tourism offers valuable employment opportunities for Moldovans. This provides an alternative to emigration and stimulates regional economic growth. Despite the difficulties and limitations imposed by the pandemic, people are now willing to travel. Tourists want to be a “click” away from their next destination and the modernized version of the Moldova.travel site is an excellent source to find out about the tourist offer of Moldova. Even though the pandemic has affected the tourism industry, our prognosis is optimistic. We hope that moldova.travel will become a source of inspiration for tourists from all over the region and from the Moldovan diaspora, who are planning a visit at home.” – Scott Hocklander, Head of the USAID Mission to Moldova.

The digital presence of tourist offers and the digitalization of the tourism industry has become a development imperative, especially in the post-pandemic period. However, approximately 65% ​​of decisions to travel are made online (Euromonitor study), starting from accessible content, and 54% of online shopping in Europe goes to the hospitality and tourism sector (OECD study).

“Moldova’s tourism industry needs to adapt and respond to new market digitalization trends. We have been working for over 3 years on this online tourism platform, together with a team of professionals, in order to develop a modern, attractive site, integrated with mobile devices and suitable for maximum indexing on search engines. The challenge for the future is to keep the site alive and updated with the evolutions of the national tourist offer”, said Natalia Țurcanu, ANTRIM executive director.

Ministry of Culture and Moldova Investment Agency, in partnership with the National Inbound and Domestic Tourism Association of Moldova will develop the digital tourism portal in a framework of public-private collaboration, will implement digital marketing campaigns, search engine advertising but also organize activities to promote the tourist offer.

The development of the website www.moldova.travel was funded by the Moldova Competitiveness Project, USAID, the Government of Sweden and the Government of the United Kingdom. Consultants such as Nata Albot (tourism ambassador and journalist), Alex Crevar (international journalist), Diana Isac (tourism expert), Maxim Ciumas (photographer), Sergiu Lungu (virtual tours), as well as the ANTRIM team and the Competitiveness Project of Moldova, contributed to the content creation. The site was technically developed by the RT-Design agency.