**4. Conclusions**

The study outlines Mărginimea Sibiului as a distinct tourism destination in Romania in what regards rural tourism and agritourism as components of sustainable tourism in this region. The diversity of tourism potential given by the gastronomy and cultural traditions in this area emphasize the destination's uniqueness and the tourist identity that has been shaped over time, hence being also known for its natural resources. The endowment of territory with many accommodation facilities ascertains the attractiveness of the region and the increasing number of domestic and foreign tourists.

The research limits must be outlined as deriving from the fact that the present paper does not benefit from the increased added-value of field research and of interviews with the destination's stakeholders, especially of a quantitative research of the demand-side. As the authors have explained, these shortages are going to be compensated in the coming papers that will address the missing aspects based on the findings of the present paper.

The analysis of the economic development of the destination places Mărginimea Sibiului in a relatively good position, with a stable population that is equally divided between gender. The trend reveals a somewhat aging population but also a good presence of youth. Still, at the same time, a diminishing tendency among young active adults is visible. Sustainable development seems to be challenged by the low quota of the (fullor part-time) employed persons, corroborated with the migration trend of the young generations. On the other hand, unemployment is at normal levels, perhaps due to the intense tourism activity in the area. Although present, migration from the destination's communities is not as high as in the case of Sibiu county.

The tourist destination has developed a bit later than other important Romanian destinations (Rucăr-Bran corridor, Bucovina and Maramures,). Initially it was Sibiu county's most significant contributor in terms of lodging services (accounting for nearly 45% of the lodgings), while today it provides a quarter of the total numerical supply. With more than two thirds of the initially established lodgings in the early 2000s continuing to function today, these facilities have proven to be sustainable and attractive businesses, contributing to the locals' employment and wellbeing. Another fact worth mentioning is the consistency in terms of lodging facilities' development and destination profile. Thus, the destination's supply is clearly dominated by agritourist boarding houses and rural guesthouses, which account for a quarter of Sibiu county's total bed-places-offer and of only a tenth of its functioning capacity. The latter aspect can be regarded as a threat for the destination's sustainable development, but, at the same time, it should be regarded as a clear sign that a diversification of leisure services is needed, which would eventually provide more business opportunities because seasonality does not seem to negatively affect the destination. The analyses of the lodging supply revealed that the authorized facilities (not entirely caught in the national statistics) comprise a significant quota of small structures, which are in fact gaining popularity in today's epidemiologic context. Furthermore, these structures are attractive for entrepreneurs, who, despite the pandemic situation, continue to establish and open new facilities. Overall, the evolution of the lodging services in the area points towards the preference of the owners and/or managers for relatively small structures that truly capitalize on the destination's potential, like agritourist guesthouses and rural boarding houses, with improved rankings. There are some exceptions, namely the cases of some investors who do not seem to understand that diversification is not needed in the supply of lodging services—agritourism and rural tourism specific facilities being the winning card—but in that of the supply of food and leisure services.

From the point of view of the hospitality services provided in the area, the main findings indicate an overall growth of small lodgings and the improvement of the services they provide by upgrading the lodgings to superior ranking levels. While the beginnings of agritourism and rural tourism in the destination are associated with timid initiatives, ranked low, the 2010 database comprises more than three fourths of the initial lodgings, of which more than a half had be reauthorized and registered at a higher ranking. This suggests, in fact, that locals have assessed the potential of tourism related businesses and that they have understood that the provision of decent services from a qualitative point of view increases their destination's attractiveness; thus, their main focus seems to be the provision of lodgings services with good value-for-money. A highly encouraging fact is that despite the difficulties determined by the COVID-19 pandemic, this year indicates the maintenance of the investors' interest towards the hospitality sector, with a growing trend of small lodgings, particularly rooms to let and apartments for rent. This novel orientation suggests the desire of the entrepreneurs to capitalize on the tourists' current needs, namely, to travel and accommodate, under safe conditions, thus turning towards smaller scale lodgings, in the countryside, where they are provided intimacy and sufficient social distance.

On the other hand, the analyses also indicated that two areas are not ye<sup>t</sup> properly covered by the local business-persons, namely foodservices and travel services. Thus, the authorized supply of foodservices is still very underdeveloped, not diversified, and fails to

contribute to the region's differentiation as a tourist destination. Specialized restaurants and restaurants with local and national specificity are practically missing from the local market's offer. The situation is very odd as long as Mărginimea Sibiului seems to fail to capitalize on its statute of gastronomic destination of Europe.

Furthermore, travel agencies are practically absent from the region. Despite its positive image both in Romania and abroad, Mărginimea Sibiului does not benefit from an appropriate destination management. There has not ye<sup>t</sup> been established a destination managemen<sup>t</sup> organization (DMO) for the area, nor has one been developed for Sibiu County. Only three localities have tourist information centers (TICs): Răs,inari (since 2010), Sălis,te (since 2013), and Tălmaciu (since 2020). Many things can and should be done in the region in this respect.

Another interesting finding of the desk analyses is the entrepreneurial profile of the players in the hospitality sector of the destination under scrutiny. Thus, from the point of view of sustainable development, it may be considered that having largely opted for the opening and managemen<sup>t</sup> of lodgings but also of foodservices under sole entrepreneurship solutions as well as having massively chosen legal forms, such as authorized person, family association, individual enterprise, or family enterprise, indicates the entrepreneur's desire to provide for his/her family and to increase their wellbeing. The promotion of agritourism and rural tourism in Mărginimea Sibiului creates opportunities for local and regional economic growth; it also helps create new jobs through harnessing the specific cultural and natural heritage. Moreover, the diversity of accommodation services creates new opportunities for the employment of youth from the region and has proven to be a female-coordinated activity.

This is another sector worth exploring for local entrepreneurs because the region presents a large variety of attractions and very diversified leisure opportunities which have grea<sup>t</sup> potential to be integrated into successful travel packages. Given the high notoriety of the area at the international level, there are plenty of business opportunities for incoming travel services.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, D.P., A.N., M.M.C., C.L.; methodology, D.P., M.M.C.; figures, A.N., M.M.C., L.M.P., A.G.; data curation, M.M.C., C.L., L.M.P., A.N., A.G.; writing—original draft preparation, M.M.C., C.L., D.P., A.N.; writing—review and editing, D.P., C.L., M.M.C., L.M.P., A.G., A.N.; visualization, M.M.C., C.L.; supervision, D.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Data is contained in the article.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
