Tourism as backer for regional development. A real deal or just another hope?

The present paper aims to estimate the economic impact of tourism in Centre development region of Romania, using the regional input-output analysis. Prior Work in the field of assessment of tourism impact suggest input – output analysis as a strong instrument of analysis, previous research papers using this model in various region and countries of the world. The main approach of the paper is to develop GRIT model (Generation of Regional Input - Output Tables) previously used by the experts. The results of the paper indicate lower backward or forward regional tourism multipliers as compared to those estimated at national level. The main findings of the paper has significant implications for the decision-makers in order to support tourism sector and better capitalize the tourism natural and cultural patrimony. Furthermore, the methodology could be used in other Romanian development regions. The value of the paper consists in adapting input-output methodology at regional level in order to estimate tourism impact