Abstract:The article aims to identify the degree to which tourism managers who work in Romania in the area of the Carpathian Mountains have implemented sustainable development practices. It also assesses the quantification of their availability to be informed and to apply voluntary tools of sustainable development. Qualitative research based on the method of semi-structured in-depth interviews was conducted, with 34 managers who work in the accommodation units in the Romanian Carpathians. Results show that most managers are concerned with issues linked to sustainable evolution of the accommodation unit they manage. The researchers have noticed a low interest in sustainable evolution negatively correlated with the comfort level of the accommodation unit and competitiveness. Based on these results the authors recommend the adoption of measures that may allow sustainable development, and for the Romanian authorities to encourage the increase in the number of tourism units that can use sustainable management systems. This can be done through accessible rules, development of networks that may offer information about good practices and codes of conduct, as well as the possibility to participate in exchange programs.

It has been shown that the development of tourism brings many benefits to the areas where this activity takes place (jobs, incomes for the community and for individuals, etc.), but it also has some shortcomings, such as the environmental degradation and the negative impact on local traditions. In order to stop these negative effects, the concept of sustainable development must be applied. This paper wants to identify the extent to which tourists are familiar with the term of „sustainability” and how they perceive the implementation of sustainable practices in the tourism sector in Romania. The research also wanted to reveal whether the application of sustainable development practices in this sector influenced tourists in choosing a specific economic agent. The authors have conducted a qualitative marketing research, and interviewed tourists who have used tourist services in Romania for the last 5 years. The research was based on the semi-structured depth interview method. The results show that most of the interviewees do not have a very clear idea about the concept of „sustainability” and that of the implementation of consistent practices in the hospitality industry. Therefore, they do not consider the application of these practices when choosing a certain economic agent for spending their free time. The results of this research can be the basis of some governmental and nongovernmental programs for educating potential tourists regarding the impact of tourism on the environment and the need for sustainable development of this sector. Also, these results can be useful to the economic operators in the tourism industry, to consider participating in the sustainable development of the sector and to take measures to promote the sustainable practices that they have applied.

Sustainable development is a constant and a necessity of daily life in the restaurant industry. The restaurant industry has high consumptions of energy, water, detergents, and consumables, together with tremendous food waste. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted many acute sustainable development problems. In this context, this article analyzes the practices identified by restaurant managers that define their responsible behavior, and the significant changes made towards sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article presents the results obtained through qualitative research, carried out by semi-directive in-depth interviews, conducted with 56 restaurant managers from Romania. The answers obtained are based on five topics of discussion highlighting the managers’ growing interest in finding solutions to counteract negative effects on the environment, to ensure the wellbeing of customers and employees, and to increase the profitability of their company. The results obtained from the research reflect the thoughts and actions of restaurant managers in Romania, contributing to the body of knowledge in the understanding of sustainability practices in the foodservice sector.

This article aims at identifying and analyzing opinions referring to the necessity, opportunity and efficiency of the implementation of the strategies and sustainable development practices in the wine industry as food safety is considered a component of sustainability. The main objective of the paper is to create a clear picture of the existing willingness of companies to adopt marketing strategies that should contribute to increasing food security by increasing the quality of wine and which should be based on the principles of sustainability. In this sense, the authors conducted some qualitative marketing research in which 15 managers from wine producing companies from Romania's wine-growing areas were interviewed. The research highlights the relationship between responsible consumption, food safety and sustainability, and the authors believe that such an association is relevant to the economic and social context of the European Union and other parts of the world. The novelty of this research refers to the analysis of the relationship between the responsible wine consumption and sustainability, to the identification of the opinions of the wine companies managers regarding the benefits and the limits of M2M and IoT technologies, to the emphasis of the marketing strategies and techniques considered innovative in the field of viticulture, as well as to the association of the concept of food safety by wine consumption to the aspects related to education and culture.

Abstract:The increased number of road accidents, leading to deaths and serious injuries is a social problem facing most of the world countries, which can affect the sustainable development of a society. This has economic implications, because it impacts the increase of expenditure on hospitalization and the recovery costs of those injured. The current article is based on a quantitative research, coordinated by the authors, conducted among traffic participants from Romania. The major objective of the study was to quantify the main aspects of seatbelt wearing behavior. The research was carried out at national level and used a systematic probabilistic sampling. The sample contains 4346 subjects, of which 3120 were from the automobile section, representing the topic of this article, and being representative of the Romanian adult population. The main research results showed that the percentage of women always wearing seatbelts (76.4%) is higher than the percentage of men (69.9%). Additionally, the highest percentage of people always wearing seatbelts is found at the age group over 55 years (85.2%). The percentage decreases with age-the age group 18-25 are the least likely to wear seatbelts.