The dynamic interactions betwee n cultural heritage and tourism lead to its assertion as an increasingly complex economic phenomenon, with social and cultural implications. At the same time, the cultural heritage has acquired a special importance among the decision makers and local communities, being associated with major tourist attractions and the cultural means of exchange, as well as educational tools for implementing sustainable management by conserving and protecting heritage elements. The importance of cultural heritage requires its evaluation, quantification, and capitalization through tourism. In this context, the present study aims, using the normalization method, to highlight the relationship between the cultural heritage and the tourist infrastructure in Beiuș Land, Bihor County, Romania. The results obtained provide a global (at the level of the studied area) and detailed image (at the level of the administrative territorial unit), regarding the relations between tourism and cultural heritage. Therefore, this study can provide impetus for the development of future research aiming at capitalizing the cultural potential.

Crișana Region is one of the most representative and wide historical regions of Romania, which encompasses several “lands” and ethnographic areas, each of them being defined by a series of features, among which those of demographic nature (ethnicity, religion) and ethno-cultural features stand out. In this context, the aim of the current study is to identify, assess and emphasize the relationship between the demographic features and those related to the ethno-cultural heritage. The accomplishment of this work required the use of the multi-criteria analysis method, successfully applied in various activity areas, a method which is characterized by a high level of complexity. The obtained results emphasized the spatial distribution on ‘territorial administrative unit’ (TAU) level of the aggregated synthetic values and of the relationship types which were determined between population and ethno-cultural heritage in Crișana Region, Romania.