Bucharest recorded 414,513 arrivals by Romanian tourists at accommodation establishments during the first six months of 2026. This was 39,113 fewer than in the same period last year, representing a decline of 8.6%.

The capital nevertheless remains second in the national domestic tourism rankings, behind Brașov and ahead of Constanța County. When foreign visitors are also included, Bucharest rises to first place nationwide, with more than 931,000 arrivals.

The figures come from data published in the TEMPO database of Romania’s National Institute of Statistics and require an important clarification: an “arrival” means the registration of a guest at an accommodation establishment. It does not necessarily represent a unique tourist.

Bucharest remains second in domestic tourism

Brașov was the most popular Romanian destination among domestic tourists during the first half of the year. The county recorded 510,823 domestic arrivals, although this figure was also lower than in 2025.

Bucharest remained in second place, while Constanța completed the top three. The five leading destinations by number of Romanian tourist arrivals were:

• Brașov – 510,823 arrivals, down 7.8%;
• Bucharest – 414,513 arrivals, down 8.6%;
• Constanța – 340,186 arrivals, down 1.1%;
• Cluj – 229,493 arrivals, down 4.3%;
• Prahova – 219,271 arrivals, down 3.3%.

The capital received approximately 9.5% of all domestic tourist arrivals recorded across the country. In other words, nearly one in ten domestic arrivals was reported by an accommodation establishment in Bucharest.

The gap between Bucharest and most of the country remains considerable. The median for the 42 administrative units included in the analysis was 66,863 arrivals. Bucharest recorded a figure more than six times higher.

Fewer arrivals, but slightly longer stays

Romanian tourists spent 704,012 nights at accommodation establishments in Bucharest. The number fell by 8.2% compared with the first half of 2025, slightly less than the decline in arrivals.

The average length of stay therefore increased from 1.69 to 1.70 nights. The difference is very small, but it shows that visitors who came to the capital did not shorten their stays any further.

However, the average stay remains shorter than the national figure of 1.91 nights. Bucharest has the profile of an urban destination: some travellers come for business meetings, events, medical appointments, concerts or short visits rather than week-long holidays.

At the same time, the national average decreased from 1.97 to 1.91 nights. Shorter stays can therefore be seen across the market, even though Bucharest followed a slightly different trend.

The capital ranks first when foreign tourists are included

The statement that Bucharest is “losing tourists” needs to be qualified. The 8.6% decline applies exclusively to Romanian arrivals. The available figures do not demonstrate that the capital’s total number of Romanian and foreign visitors fell by the same proportion.

During the first half of 2026, Bucharest reported approximately 931,200 arrivals in total, according to the press release published by Romania’s National Institute of Statistics. The capital ranked first nationally, ahead of Brașov County, with 592,900 arrivals, and Constanța County, with 364,400.

Subtracting the 414,513 domestic arrivals results in approximately 516,700 foreign tourist arrivals. This calculation indicates that international visitors accounted for more than half of all arrivals recorded in Bucharest during the period analysed.

The capital accounted for almost 17% of all tourist arrivals reported in Romania. Bucharest is therefore second in the domestic tourism rankings, but first when all arrivals are taken into account.

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Domestic tourism declined across most of the country

Bucharest’s situation is part of a national trend. Accommodation establishments in Romania reported 5.56 million arrivals during the first half of the year, 4.1% fewer than in the same period of 2025.

However, the two main segments followed different trajectories:

• Romanian tourist arrivals fell to 4.36 million, a decline of 6.8%;
• foreign tourist arrivals rose to 1.19 million, an increase of 7.3%;
• overnight stays decreased by 6.7%, to approximately 10.8 million;
• the net occupancy rate was 22.8% in the first half of the year, down 2.9 percentage points.

In June, the occupancy rate reached 26.7%, but remained 3.4 percentage points below the level recorded in the same month of 2025. The national decline therefore came from the domestic segment, while the number of foreign tourist arrivals increased.

Not every county lost Romanian visitors. Hunedoara recorded an increase of 30.7%, Ilfov of 27.9%, Bistrița-Năsăud of 10.4% and Mureș of 5.7%. The 150.9% increase reported in Teleorman must be viewed in relation to its very low starting point: only 3,172 arrivals in the first half of 2026.

Holiday vouchers explain only part of the decline

One explanation discussed by the tourism industry concerns changes to the holiday voucher scheme. In 2026, public institutions grant annual vouchers worth RON 800 to employees whose net monthly base salary does not exceed RON 6,000, under Law No. 141/2025.

The rule applies to the public sector. Private employers may continue to provide this benefit, but participation in the scheme is not compulsory for them.

ANAT, citing figures compiled by the Ministry of Finance, announced that the value of redeemed holiday vouchers fell by approximately 60% during the first half of the year. The association believes the changes affected domestic tourism, but this interpretation does not demonstrate that vouchers were the sole cause of the decline measured by the National Institute of Statistics.

Inflation, accommodation prices, shorter stays and a growing preference for holidays abroad may also have contributed to the result.

Romanians spent more on travel abroad

Figures published by the National Bank of Romania offer an indication of how travel budgets have shifted. During the first six months of 2026, payments made by Romanian residents for travel abroad reached approximately €4.88 billion, compared with €4.14 billion during the same period in 2025.

Meanwhile, Romania’s receipts from trips made by non-residents increased from €2.19 billion to approximately €2.40 billion. The travel balance deficit consequently widened to almost €2.49 billion, according to data published by the National Bank of Romania.

The category used by the central bank does not cover holidays exclusively. It also includes other types of travel, which means the figures should not be treated as an exact measurement of holidays taken abroad. They do, however, confirm that Romanians spent more money outside the country.

What the 414,513 arrivals actually represent

The figure does not represent 414,513 unique individuals. A tourist who stays at several hotels or in several counties during the same period may appear in the statistics more than once.

The count also excludes day visitors, people staying with relatives or friends, and guests using accommodation that does not report data to the National Institute of Statistics. These figures describe the activity of registered accommodation establishments, not the entire movement of people through the city.