CULTURAL HERITAGE, NATURAL RESOURCES
 AND COMPETITIVENESS OF THE TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY
       IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES


                            Diana Dugulan, Academy of Economic Studies
                            Virgil Balaure, Romanian-American University
                         Ioana Cecilia Popescu, Academy of Economic Studies
                             Călin Vegheş, Academy of Economic Studies


ABSTRACT: Competitiveness has become one of the common concepts employed in the recent years
to approach and describe the sustainable development of the travel and tourism industry. Cultural
heritage and natural resources represent two significant pillars of the tourism’s sustainable
development: that is why the development of the tourism based on the cultural heritage and natural
resources could provide a consistent support for increasing the competitiveness of the Central and
Eastern European countries as tourist destinations. The paper assesses how important are and
what are the contributions of the cultural heritage and natural resources to the overall
competitiveness of the travel and tourism industry and to its performances based on specific data
referring to the Central and Eastern European countries.

Key words: cultural heritage, natural resources, tourism competitiveness, Central and Eastern Europe

JEL codes: L83, M31.