Josef and Lenka Sikrha are two Czechs who decided to write a book describing their travels by car in Romania.
They titled it "Romania Is Not A Wild Country," which reflects on the way they knew their fellow Czechs and the Slovaks perceived the country. Josef and Lenka Sikrha are two Czechs who decided to write a book describing their travels by car in Romania.
They titled it "Romania Is Not A Wild Country," which reflects on the way they knew their fellow Czechs and the Slovaks perceived the country.
The Sikrhas were met with a cold shoulder by Romanian authorities, when they tried to contact them to finance the bookâs publishing.
Jurnalul National: What motivated you to write a book on Romaniaâs tourism offer? Lenka Sikrha: We wrote a travel book on Romania because we were enchanted with the many opportunities the country presents to tourists and impressed with the many historical sites, the beauty of the rural areas, the hospitality of the people, the quality of service, and the environment safety.
The Romanians are very open towards tourists from central and western Europe. At the same time the authorities are blind to the countryâs huge economic potential resting in the hospitality industry. We thought proper promotion of tourism would succeed to change the opinion the Czechs and the Slovaks held on Romania: hence the title we chose.
JN: How did the readership assess the book? LS: Well, the readers were fantastic. They were surprised by the reading and said they would have never thought Romania could be that interesting.
JN: Did the authorities in Bucharest help you to publish this book promoting Romaniaâs tourism? LS: No, not at all. We contacted Veronica Miclea, director with Romania Tourism in Prague, for maps, contacts and recommendations in Romania. We send ten letters and emails to public instituti
