Car access to mountain resorts - advantages and disadvantages. Case study: Parâng Resort

University of Petrosani, Faculty of Mining, Department of Environmental Engineering and Geology, 20 University Street, Petrosani, Romania

^* Corresponding author: izabelaapostu@upet.ro

Abstract

Tourism stimulates economic growth and the development of local communities. The mountain areas, as points of tourist attraction, represent real treasures in terms of the spectacular landscapes, the specific geological and floristic elements and the diversity of sports and activities that can be practiced. Problems such as long distance from areas of interest (localities), difficult access, harsh climatic conditions, vulnerability to natural disasters prevent the development of mountain resorts and mountain tourism. Access to mountain resorts is one of the most discussed issues. While some are making sacrifices to find sustainable solutions to give tourists access to the resorts, others apply simpler solutions, such as building roads and allowing public traffic. The existence of modernized access roads supports the development of a mountain resort in the sense that tourists can get comfortably, safely and as close as possible to the existing objectives using their personal car, without depending on other means of transport. However, this comfort is accompanied by a number of advantages and disadvantages, which are analyzed in this paper and highlighted by the case study method. For this purpose, the county road DJ709F, recently modernized, which provides car access to Parâng Resort, located in Parâng Mountains, was studied.