ASSESSEMENT OF RESIDENTS' ATTITUDES TOWARDS TOURISM AND HIS IMPACT ON COMMUNITIES IN THE DANUBE DELTA.

The Danube Delta was in 2016 the object of large debates regarding the future development of this area. The proposed strategic measures concentrate on the economic benefits of local communities and on the conservation of biodiversity, but in the same time sustainable tourism was considered (together with small industries and traditional crafts development) a very important source of revenue for the local communities. We consider that understanding residents' perceptions over the tourism activities from Danube Delta can improve the future decisions of stakeholders. In this context, the paper examines the attitudes of local people from Danube Delta towards the ongoing tourism and the impact of tourism on their communities. Questionnaire surveys were carried out in 2016 in 12 villages and were collected responses from 146 local residents. The main results of our survey revealed a positive attitude of residents towards tourism in general (especially amongst female, non-employees, high-income and directly involved in tourism respondents) and towards tourism in their community (especially amongst male, non-employees, low-income and directly involved in tourism respondents). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]