The approximately 1,500 foreign hunters that came to shoot wild animals in Romania last year spent 5 million euros on the services provided by the specialised companies and on the trophies they got as a result of successful hunting.
"Compared with the previous season, the number of tourists stayed the same, but the unfavourable weather conditions induced a drop in the number of hunting events. Many people left without getting to shoot something, though without feeling bitter about it," Arpad Sarkany, chairman of Abies Hunting, a company that brings foreign hunters to Romania told Ziarul Financiar. The company accounts for nearly 50% of this market, Sarkany says, and posted 2.2 million euro turnover last year.
Big names such as the Prince of Liechtenstein, the Sheikh of Qatar or the president of the Seat carmaker came to hunt down a chamois or a brown bear in Romania last year. The King of Spain Juan Carlos himself has a hunting party scheduled for this spring to shoot a Carpathian bear he wants for his trophy collection, sources on the market say.
"Spaniards come in large numbers in general, followed by French, Germans, Austrians, Belgians and Italians. The Italians prefer small game," says Ioan Iacob, chairman of Dacrom Trade, another specialised company that accounts for about 20% of the market and derived 800,000 euro revenues from this business last year. More and more American hunters have shown interest in Romania lately. "Until recently, the Americans would prefer Africa or Asia, but the attacks and uncertainty in those regions have made them go for safer destinations. Furthermore, the Americans are well known for their love of hunting, and Romania is famous for this," Abies Hunting chairman says.
A hunting trip lasts four days and costs 1,000-1,500 euros/tourist. In addition, the hunters have to pay the shooting fee ranging from 400 euros per wild boar to 2,000 per chamois and 7,000 euros per bear.
The hunting parties are organised on the lands of the National Forest Regie or on those of the Hunters Association, controlled by the General Association of Hunters and Fishers in Romania, the honorary chairman of which is Prime Minister Adrian Nastase himself. In addition to these lands, pens are now being used, as they are very popular abroad.
"There's nothing spectacular in sight for this season, but chances are we'll see a slight decline, if we are unable to improve the quality of our services. I have managed to keep my clients, of whom 80% are regulars," Iacob says.
stelian.negrea@zf.ro
