[JUNIOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHER JOURNAL] JSR 38 Vol. II │ No. 2 │ November 2016| ONLINE TOURISM IN ROMANIA IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBALIZATION - STUDY CONCERNING THE PRESENCE OF THE TRAVEL AGENCIES ON THE INTERNET- Aluculesei Alina-Cerasela (Author of Correspondence), Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Business and Tourism Department, alina_cerasella@yahoo.com We suggest you to cite this article as: Aluculesei, A.C. (2016). Online tourism in Romania in the context of globalization - Study concerning the presence of the travel agencies on the internet. Junior Scientific Researcher, Vol II (2), pp. 38-50. Abstract Tourism is a dynamic domain and sensitive to changes caused by globalization. It is modeled both by operators and tourists, being in a constant transformation. The presence of the Internet and using it constantly turns the distance from impediment in ordinary. Destinations that not long ago were regarded with suspicion today can be explored including through testimonials of tourists from around the world. This study addresses one of the most important changes among travel agencies due to globalization that is moving their activity online. The research is made on the travel agencies from Romania in 2013 and includes both general issues such as the existence of a website, consumer protection in the online environment, card payment possibility on the site, and particular aspects, such as spa deals, social offers and tourist information. Keywords: online payment, online travel, social tourism, spa offers, travel agency. JEL Classification: L83, F63. I. INTRODUCTION Globalization is a phenomenon known everywhere, with real implications for all types of businesses. Internet is one of its components that affected all areas both from merchant’s and buyer's perspective. Tourism is one of the areas that transformed in a radically way. The emergence of online activities did everything to be rethought: from the way in which tour operators present their offer and get buyers to the way how tourists plan and buy their holidays. One of the major changes occurred among travel agencies who have lost the advantage of being the primary interface between the tourist and the destination. If two decades ago to purchase a ticket or reserve a hotel room inevitably involved a trip to the agency, now anyone can be their own agent with a single click. But with the appearance of tourism activity in the online environment, there inevitable appeared consumer protection issues. Aspects such as data protection, security of electronic payments and consumer information had been regulated to provide safer online transactions.