Bucharest, December 23, 2025 – The Romanian Hotel Industry Federation (FIHR) draws attention to the way in which the special tourism promotion tax for 2026 was approved by the General Council of Bucharest Municipality, on December 23, without consulting the private sector and without presenting a transparent plan for the use of the funds collected.
According to FIHR representatives, the hotel industry in Bucharest - which provides most of the capital's accommodation capacity and constantly contributes to the local budget - was not involved in the decision-making process, although the impact of the measure is direct and significant on economic operators.
Public-private dialogue, absent exactly when it is most needed
"Tourism cannot be managed effectively through unilateral decisions. In all the performing European capitals, tourism policies are built together with the industry. In Bucharest, we witnessed an accelerated procedure, which excluded precisely the partners who finance this tax", reports FIHR.
The draft decision was published on Friday, December 19, withdrawn on Monday, December 22, and put to the vote on December 23, within a few days, without respecting the minimum deadlines provided for by the decision-making transparency law. This approach nullified the possibility of an impact analysis and a real debate on the economic and operational consequences of the measure.
Funds collected without a clear spending strategy
Another major problem reported by FIHR is lack of a concrete, public and assumed plan regarding the use of the amounts collected from the tourist promotion tax, which until now reached approx. 4.5 Million Euros/year. Currently, Bucharest does not have an operational Destination Management Organization (DMO), and the promotion strategy of the Capital is missing or fragmented.
"Money is being collected without clear objectives, performance indicators or a timetable for action. The industry is left with the task of financing a mechanism that does not yet have a functional architecture."," emphasize the federation representatives.
FIHR recalls that there are already unused amounts collected in previous years from the promotion tax, precisely due to the lack of an implementation mechanism and a dedicated structure to strategically manage these funds.
European good practices point in a different direction
In most European capitals, city taxes are administered through destination management organizations, in public-private partnership, with transparent budgets and multi-annual promotion programs. The private sector is involved in defining priorities, and the authorities assume the role of coordinator and guarantor of the public interest.
"Bucharest risks remaining an expensive fiscal destination, but poorly promoted, if it does not change the paradigm. The problem is not the tax, but the lack of strategy, dialogue and responsibility in spending money", warns FIHR.
Call for a return to dialogue and informed decisions
The Federation calls for the resumption of dialogue with the private sector, the reanalysis of the adopted decision, and the correlation of any form of taxation with the operationalization of OMD Bucharest and with a clear, transparent and measurable plan to promote the city.
"IThe hotel industry does not dispute the need for promotion. It disputes the non-transparent way in which decisions are made and the lack of a clear project for Bucharest. Tourism needs partnership, not administrative improvisation", concludes FIHR.
