The Economic Impact of the SAPARD Programme on the Tourism Supply in Suceava County

Cristian-Valentin Hapenciuc (), Pavel Stanciu (), Andrei-Alexandru Morosan and Gabriela Arionesei (Gaube)
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Cristian-Valentin Hapenciuc: “Stefan cel Mare” University of Suceava,
Andrei-Alexandru Morosan: “Stefan cel Mare” University of Suceava,
Gabriela Arionesei (Gaube): “Stefan cel Mare” University of Suceava,

The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, 2014, vol. 16, issue Special 8, 1327

Abstract: The Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (SAPARD) was a pre-accession instrument, created and implemented by the European Union since 1999 and aimed at providing logistical support to applicant countries from Central and Eastern Europe. The programme had two main components: providing non-refundable financial assistance, by stimulating regional economic growth and development and, at the same time, it was directed at implementing certain management systems that matched the development policies of the EU. The effects triggered by the implementation of the SAPARD Programme in Romanian tourism were assessed in the past years from various quantitative perspectives (number of projects, value of the granted funding), but the regional economic impact generated strictly by this programme hasn’t yet been explicitly and unequivocally pointed out. From this standpoint, the previous research has been mainly focused on pre/post implementation comparisons of the GDP and of the unemployment rate. On a national level, the Suceava county stands out in terms of the large number of SAPARD projects funded through the Measure 3.4 – The development and diversification of economic activities to generate multiple activities and alternative income, thus leading to an increasing number of boarding houses in rural areas and, at the same time, fostering the qualitative development of the tourism supply in the area. From our point of view, an analytical approach of the multiplying effect generated by the SAPARD Programme would start from the thorough measurement of the economic changes that have occurred locally, in relation to the weight of the absorbed grants. The preliminary results arrived at in less than 5 years since the suspension of this funding source pinpoint a rather insignificant contribution of these funds to the local economy. The lack of experience of the parties involved in the system, bureaucracy and the migration of the non-refundable money are the most probable causes of the selection and implementation of projects that were rather unsustainable and inadequate in terms of quality.

Keywords: SAPARD programme; boarding houses; rural tourism sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L83 O22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aes:amfeco:v:37:y:2014:i:16:p:1327

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