Public Relations in Tourism. A Research on the Perception of the Romanian Public Upon Responsible Tourism

AbstractPublic relations represent a unique way of promoting the organization, its products or services, by building a higher visibility in the public space. Public relations represent a strategic form of communication, which focuses on gaining the audience's understanding and acceptance, as well as on the process of building a good relation between an organization and the public. In the tourist sector, public relations are more than a necessity. The major challenge consists in identifying the most efficient ways of promoting tourist products, building a positive image, increasing the visibility of tourist destinations, in order to attract a significant number of tourists. Public relations may represent a bridge towards change, a means for adjusting to the new attitudes triggered by change. Starting from these considerations, the purpose of the research is twofold: to analyze the applicative role of public relations in the tourist sector, respectively, to identify the perception of the Romanian public of responsible tourism in Romania. In this regard, we have applied the research method of the questionnaire-based inquiry to a sample of 60 persons, in order to identify the “thought particularities” of the internal public, which may allow us to formulate conclusions useful to such a process. In our opinion, responsible tourism represents the most economically, socially and environmentally efficient approach, a real opportunity for exploiting and promoting local products and services, the tourist potential which Romania may enhance with a view to maximizing the positive impact upon the public in terms of tourist destinations. In this case, professionalism and responsibility should constitute reference points