The tourism organizations of Mureș, Harghita, and Covasna counties organized the Regional Tourism Conference for the third time, held on October 16–17 at the Palace of Culture and Hotel Privo in Târgu Mureș/Marosvásárhely. This year’s main organizer was the Visit Mureș Association.

Following the opening ceremony, the participants were welcomed by Szántó Lóránt, xecutive director of the Visit Mureș Association, Deák Gyöngyvér, executive director of the Association for Tourism in Covasna County (Visit Covasna), and Szabó Károly, Executive Director of the Harghita Community Development Association (Visit Harghita). During the program, attendees listened to presentations on topics such as the development and funding strategy of the Central Region, positioning Transylvania as a tourist destination, international sustainable tourism certifications, and accessible tourism in Romania.

The presentations were followed by a marketing workshop and discussions on professional topics related to the future of tourism, including active tourism, cycling camps, the role of artificial intelligence, and search engine optimization. The first day of the event concluded with a panel discussion titled “Influencer Marketing in Tourism”, featuring Ana Vlad (influencer), Miruna Corneanu (talent manager at HIT Yourself agency), and Fazakas Szabolcs (founder and CEO of the “Székely Legendárium”). The panel was moderated by Szabó Károly.

On the second day, the main theme of the conference was gastronomy and its impact on tourism. Participants attended two panel discussions.
The first panel, titled “Traditional Transylvanian Cuisine”, featured Trucza Adorján (owner and manager of the Páva restaurant and organizer of the Taste of Transylvania gastronomic festival), Gáll Tímea (owner of the Zsigmond Malom guesthouse and author of the book “Kölcsönkért kovász”), Mircea Groza (culinary archaeologist, gastronomist, and author of Zămuri, supe, zupe și năcreli – rețete ardelenești din bătrâni), Jonas Schäfer (chef and manager at Valea Verde Retreat), Mautner Zsófia (culinary blogger, Chili & Vanilia - “Mautner Zsófi konyhája”), and Szőcs Előd (creative chef, culinary consultant, contributor to the reissue of the book “Ferencesek főztje” and collaborator of Szekler Kitchen & Garden magazine). The panel was moderated by László Endre, President of the Székely TDM Cluster.

The second panel, moderated by Orbán Ferenc, editor-in-chief of Szekler Kitchen & Garden magazine, focused on the tradition of home cooking and hospitality. Speakers included Iulia Drăguț (chef and president of the Euro Est Alternativ Cultural Association), Csapó Sándor (chef at Petry Bistro Grill&Wine), Bíró Botond Boldizsár (perfume chef and founder of the private restaurant Béterv), Dóci Lóránt (owner of Gado Gourmet Bistro), and Szabó Károly, the executive director of our association.

The conference provided a comprehensive professional insight into the current and future challenges of tourism, highlighting the sectors that can support the region’s tourism development.

 

Harghita Community Development Association (ADI Harghita)