Oltenia – Micro-destination of Cultural and Medical Spa Tourism * Aurelia-Felicia STĂNCIOIU Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies stancioiufelicia@hotmail.com Ion PÂRGARU Polytechnic University of Bucharest pargaruion@yahoo.com Anca-Daniela VLĂDOI Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies anca.vladoi@gmail.com Nicolae TEODORESCU Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies teodorescu.nicolae@gmail.com Carmen PUIU University of Craiova cvpuiu@yahoo.com Abstract. A region, in order to express its viability as tourism destination, has to emphasize not only its defining elements, but also the activities from the recreative, curative or cultural field in which it has specialized in (processed after Cocean et al., 2002, pp. 297-298). This involves several stages, organically linked in a planned framework, with the establishment of the specific objectives and strategies, not only at micro and meso, but also at macro level, beginning with “the study of the motivational demand, of the resources, in terms of their functionality in tourism and their profitability in exploitation” (Erdeli, Gheorghilaş, 2006, pp. 288-289). The authors intend, based on these considerations, to reveal the elements of regional brand, with the identification of those functions or types of tourism (recreative, curative and/or cultural) which are specific to the region of Oltenia, that is “still unseen and unknown”. Keywords: tourism micro-destination; destination image; regional tourism brand; medical spa tourism; destination marketing. JEL Code: M31. REL Codes: 14F, 14G. * The paper is part of a research presented in detail in vol. XVIII, No. 2(555)/2011. Theoretical and Applied Economics Volume XVIII (2011), No. 12(565), pp. 43-58