Is tourism possible without overcrowding popular destinations?

Who doesn't love to travel?

Today we're visiting Count Dracula's castle in Transylvania, Romania.

This destination attracts one million tourists each year.

Travelling is a passion, but tourism also presents many challenges.

The European project Tourism in Balance is being launched to rethink the sector.

Most tourists want to see some highlights or travel the same place others go.

How can you entice them to go just to another spot that is less crowded but also very interesting?

Six European cities, including Rome, Amsterdam and Brasov in Romania, are working hand in hand under the leadership of Brady University of Applied Sciences.

The main goal is to help the partners to improve their strategies and policies to overcome over-tourism by distributing the tourists in time and space.

The partners meet in Brasov in the heart of Transylvania to share strategies.

This city, with its great tourism potential, aims to learn from the challenges already faced by its partners, such as Amsterdam or Rome, to avoid overcrowding.

Our main goal is the sustainable development of the entire metropolitan area, both urban and rural.

So if we manage to redirect tourists from the most crowded areas to the less crowded ones we will have benefits for the entire community.

This project has cost approximately 1.75 million euros.

The European Union has financed 80%, while the remaining 20% comes from the partners.

One of the region's flagship initiatives to redistribute tourism is the GastroLocal programme.

Residents in these rural areas open their homes to offer home-cooked meals at a fixed price of 16 euros under the supervision of health authorities.

One of the conditions is that 70% of the products must be locally sourced.

This gastronomic experience benefits residents, local producers and tourists alike.

It offers a unique opportunity to discover the region away from mass tourism.