Balneary Tourism Management in Turkey - Comparative Analysis Corina Aurora Marin (Barbu) coribarbu@yahoo.com Ana Maria Dumitrache (Șerbănescu) Gabriela Gheorghiu “Ovidius” University of Constanta, Romania gabrielag3110@yahoo.com Abstract Nowadays, the tourism is a significant and remarkable economic branch. The increase in volume and the complexity of the touristic service offer have generated a true industry of the journeys and tourism, which justifies treating the touristic phenomenon as a distinctive branch of the national economy which is in full development, being a component of the tertiary sector. In this way there is a concern to define the concept in a more complete form. Tourism is a phenomenon characteristic to the modern civilization, influenced by its evolution. It fulfils the needs of all client categories. Also, through its mass character and complex content, tourism trains a vast material and human potential, with important implications upon the evolution of the economy and society, upon the national and international interhuman relations. As a result, tourism represents a true business, contributing to the employed work force and the gross world product. The balneary tourism, as an integrated branch of tourism, its extremely important, given that it’s based on natural resources, given that it is based on natural resources, from which not every country benefit from. So, owning some natural resources constitutes a true treasure that needs to be treasured and simultaneously valued through adopting a total management. We have chosen this theme in order to highlight the differences between the approach of balneary tourism by two countries: Turkey and Romania. Key words: balneary tourism, management, Turkey, Romania J.E.L. classification: Z30 1. Introduction Tourism and the local economic development are strongly connected. Tourism can have a constructive effect upon the local economy and can contribute to the balancing of some inequalities between different parts of a country. Thus, in many regions of the world, tourism is accepted as one of the biggest sources of economic growth and job creation. In accordance with the economic contribution of the sector, the policy in the tourism department has become a regional development instrument and to improve the opportunities of a country. Thus, tourism for many countries has become a constant concern and a priority. Through the prism of the tourism, the local resources are superior valued, the infrastructure is improved, the action of spatial planning is intensified and at the same time exchanges of experiences and cultures are made. Tourism in Turkey has rapidly developed, gaining an important competitive advantage in the international tourism market using its natural potential. In addition to the mass tourism, Turkey also has a significant potential for alternative tourism in different regions. Although Turkey holds an important share of the tourism at a global level, from the point of view of tourism revenues and arrivals, it is not enough to only consider this potential. It is obvious that the alternative tourism potential is not fully explored and exploited due to obstacles encountered in the tourism sector. “Ovidius” University Annals, Economic Sciences Series Volume XIX, Issue 2 /2019 528