THE LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIELD OF TOURISM IN THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CONTEXT

The main purpose of the research presented in this article was to analyze the level of tourism development in the current economic context, being focused on European countries. The analysis was carried out taking into account the demand-supply ratio, materialized by the evolution of the supply and demand of tourist services at the European level, but also the dynamics of the infrastructure related to tourist services. Eurostat data on the evolution of representative indicators for the characterization of the supply and demand of tourist services were used to carry out the research. The results of the analyzes carried out seem to indicate that the most important countries from the perspective of the offer of tourist services are also those whose tourist services have the most important share in the evolution of demand at the European level. Airport, road and rail infrastructure is essential for tourism development and economic growth. The countries of Western Europe, such as Germany, France and Spain, have invested considerably in the modernization of the infrastructure related to tourist services, while the Eastern European countries make investments in the tourist infrastructure precisely in order to reduce the existing gaps.