Rural tourism, defined as a form of local initiative tourism, has at its forefront the involvement of the local community, who contribute significantly to the affirmation and promotion of this type of tourism. In order to be able to speak of the practice of this type of tourism in a given geographical area, it is first necessary to highlight the existence of a tourist heritage, both natural and anthropic, which identifies itself with the authentic character of the area, satisfying the need of the tourist to discover activities and tourist attractions with local specificity. The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of socio-economic and cultural aspects in the sustainable development of tourism in the Gurghiului Valley. The present study also aims to highlight the role of local entrepreneurs in the process of economic development in the area by means of new practices and sustainable approaches; this is based on efficient capitalization of the natural and anthropic tourism heritage of the area, defined by elements of authenticity. The methodology applied in this work is based on the study of specialized literature, along with case study on tourist activity in rural tourism. The research carried out is based on analysis of data from official sources of tourist data (the National Tourism Agency (hereafter NTA) and the National Institute of Statistics (hereafter NIS)), as well as research carried out in the field to see if there are discrepancies between what these two aforementioned official sources provide and the reality on the ground. Our research finally revealed the fact that Gurghiului Valley officially entered into the tourist landscape in 1990 through the lens of the Lăpușna student and preschool camp, and rural tourism has been organized in the study area since 2005. At the same time, research has shown that there is currently a need for much greater involvement and awareness both from local authorities and the resident population regarding the importance of rural tourism in the social and economic evolution of the local community.

In the last decades of the 20th century, the patterns of urban shrinkage defined a worldwide phenomenon. They are visible in all developed regions, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, on the background of the economic growth trajectories and social health improvements. Despite this fact, the public discourse in a post-socialist country such as Romania is only focused on urban decline and its demographic dynamics sliding, when in fact urban shrinkage is more advanced, even to the point of becoming a selective phenomenon in developed countries such as The Netherlands. Our focus on urban shrinkage was driven by the fact that Romania can develop a policy framing regarding urban shrinkage, using example practices from a developed country such as The Netherlands. Moreover, it can learn how to deal with urban shrinkage effects by establishing certain differences which can cope with veritable lessons from both sides. This paper firstly investigates the urban shrinkage phenomenon observed in three cities in Romania and in three cities in The Netherlands. Secondly, it presents an analysis of demographic statistical data using the shift-and-share method to emphasize the persistence of urban shrinkage in the age structure of the total population of shrinking cities from both regions. Thirdly, it offers some lessons from both countries, finally presenting a mutual learning framework that can be applied to other regions in Europe.

Population ageing represents a dramatic scenario and a progressive process inducing major changes in the dynamics of the population and especially in the age structure. The ageing population process is a phenomenon relevant to define not only demographic but also social, cultural, and territorial transformations in relation to the urban settlements. In this article, we present a case study regarding the ageing process persistent in urban areas from the counties of the Transylvania region. The present study emphasizing the evolution of the older adults age group between 2015 and 2019, drawing a forecast model for the prognosis period 2020–2050. The tendencies of the population decline process are revealed by the outcomes of the ageing index, outlining some long-term effects of population ageing over the years. The study of this phenomenon reveals an important framework at the regional level of Transylvania and points out the means to determine its existence in other regions or countries, since it affects the urban population evolution and its dynamics.