Comparative Assessments of the Seasonality in "The Total Number of Overnight Stays" in Romania, Bulgaria and the European Union

It is thought that tourism started to display a significant activity only towards the end of the nineteenth century. At the international level, its development has been almost explosive since the 1960s; therefore, the current period is characterized by a real revolution in travel. However, in most countries, tourism is characterized by a seasonal evolution. The objective of this paper is represented by the comparative analysis of the seasonality in the tourism activities from Romania and Bulgaria, with a reference to the average seasonality registered in the EU member countries. For the quantitative research carried out in this study, we processed a database consisting of the monthly values of “the total number of overnight stays” indicator, recorded between January 2005 and December 2016, using the moving average method, the seasonality coefficient and EViews 5. The results led to the formulation of comparative assessments regarding the seasonality in the tourism activities from Romania and Bulgaria and their situation compared to the average of the seasonality recorded in the EU