General Proposal for the Romanian Consulate
Date: July 8, 2009
Addressed to: Razvan Dumitrescu, Economic Consul & Catalin Ghenea, Consul General
Regarding: Promoting Tourism, Trade & Investment
Proposal Summary
The Consulate General of Romania and I share a mutual interest in promoting tourism, trade and
investment between Romania and the US. I have traveled to Romania many times now. Destinations I
have visited include-but are not limited to-Bran Castle, Brasov, Rasnov Fortress, Sibiu, Sighisoara, Sinaia
and Timisoara. I feel fortunate having benefited from experiencing some of what the country has to offer.
While Romania features so much, Americans aware are so few. We can change that. It is my passion to
work with the Romanian Consulate in reaching out to my fellow Americans and showing them how they
could benefit from and enjoy what Romania has to offer. In short, I am offering a wide range of
independent marketing services that promote tourism, trade and investment.
Some of My Experiences in and Thoughts about Romania
When I think of Romania, I think of Maramureş, charming Transylvanian-Saxon town and cities,
Bucovina monasteries, castles, the Black Sea and amazing nature. Equally, however, when I think of
Romania, I think of great business opportunities. There are many business opportunities that immediately
caught my eye when visiting Romania.
How about promoting Romanian agritourism? If Romanian farming is a defining characteristic of
national identity, then why not share it with visitors? Americans would be especially curious about
Romania’s wine-producing regions. How about promoting ecotourism? Many Americans would love getting
lost in Romania’s nature, not least along the Transfăgărăşan Road and Black Sea, in the Argeş Valley and
around the Bicaz Gorges, Danube Delta etc. How about promoting sporting adventure tourism, not least in
the Prahova Valley? Although Romania is just as much a nature-based destination as it is an architectural
one, the country has not developed its sporting adventure industry nearly as much as countries like
Slovakia and Slovenia.
How about linking up US investors with crumbling and vacant historical buildings that are waiting to
be converted into hotels? With all due respect, lodging options in Romania’s old towns are generally quite
poor. Think about how exotic it is to stay in a converted and centrally located historical building as opposed
to some concrete apartment complex or new and faceless hotel located amid modern urban sprawl. In my
view, there is absolutely huge potential here.
How about promoting retirement in relatively inexpensive Romania to Americans frustrated with
their pension cuts and the rising cost of living? Now is a better time than ever to aggressively push this
campaign! Many retired Americans over the age of fifty-five do not want to wait years for their lives to
improve here in the US. They feel like they deserve the good life now! Indeed, Romania can undoubtedly
provide them with this lifestyle today.
How about promoting study abroad programs to Romania? Consider how much Spain has
benefited from its influx of American students. Why couldn’t Romania benefit as well? How about working
with American universities in promoting ‘academic tourism’ to students of wildlife, sea life, biodiversity,
linguistics, Eastern European Studies, architecture, etc.? Imagine receiving US governmental support and
possibly even funding for American students to visit Romania for research purposes!
How about approaching US investors with the idea of investing in ultra-modern Romanian
greenhouses? I am referring to the type of greenhouses countries like Spain now use. Think how many
Romanians would benefit. (1) These greenhouses could employee tens of thousands of locals, thus
reducing state unemployment cost burdens. (2) These greenhouses themselves would feed locals, thus
decreasing food-related poverty. (3) These greenhouses would also lower state need to rely of foreign food
imports. (4) These greenhouses would also lower state need to maintain current levels of farming
subsidies for current farmers. (5) These greenhouses would also generate renewable energy. (6) These
greenhouses would also enable fruits and vegetables to grow very quickly, hence eliminating any advocacy
for genetic modification to food. (7) These greenhouses would also enable fruits and vegetables to always
grow in any season. (8) These greenhouses are also great for the environment and could spark a global
trend.
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I have written pages and pages of travel reports on Romania. I hope that one day we could meet in
person at one of my restaurants (www.friscos.com) so I could take the opportunity to share with you some
of my incredible experiences in Romania. What I will share with you now, however, are my thoughts about
providing the Romanian Consulate services. Helping foster Romania’s growth by showing the US what this
jewel of a country has on offer is a great passion of mine. In other words, I would see it as a great honor to
promote tourism to, trade with and investment in Romania. Fortunately, my background experience,
research dedication and capabilities more than enable me to succeed with this desire.
About Me
To tell you just a little about me, I am a well-traveled and independent marketing specialist whose
greatest talent is bridging the gap between my fellow Americans and consulates and national tourist
boards. Being American-born while having immersed so deeply into the countries I visit is what typically
enables me to bridge this gap. After all, I am not a vacationer. I am a traveler! Through extensive research
and traveling I am able to ascertain what from a country’s features is likely to appeal most to Americans.
Having visited 63 nations so far and having earned a bachelor’s degree in International Business
Communications and a master’s degree in Diplomacy, well, business, tourism and intercultural exchange
summarize what simply make me tick.
My Qualifications
Academic:

I have a bachelor’s degree in International Business Communications with a minor in global
strategies. I have a 3.9 grade point average (GPA).

I graduated top in my bachelor program. I graduated Jones International University in 2003
Summa Cum Laude (with highest honors) and was nominated for the National Dean’s List.

I have a master’s degree in Diplomacy from Norwich University. I graduated youngest in my
university with a 3.7 GPA.
I participated in a study abroad program, living in Spain, Germany and Greece.
I studied the Greek language in school and now speak the language fluently.


Entrepreneurial:


I have practiced real estate for several years, representing house transactions, restaurant
transactions, commercial land transactions as well as doing loans. This is basically how I financed
my traveling, through my real estate endeavors.
I purchased and owned Frisco’s Downey restaurant (visit www.friscos.com). Through my own
marketing initiatives, I had one of California’s top 5 largest Sport Bike Nights. Every Tuesday I had
approximately 600 patrons visit this event. I also had around 100-125 patrons visit my Wednesday
night Classic Car Show and around 250 patrons visit my Thursday night Harley Davidson Biker
Night. I also hosted different classic car show events every Friday and Sunday night, as well as
host a live band showing every Saturday night.
Which Countries I’ve Traveled to:
Not only have I visited all the countries listed below, I have also done research and have traveled
extensively in most of them. Moreover, in most cases, I have visited on more than one occasion:
Asia & the Middle East1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Japan
China
Singapore
Thailand
United Arab Emirates
Turkey
Israel
Australasia8. Australia
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9. New Zealand
Africa10. South Africa
11. Morocco
South America12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
Chile
Argentina
Uruguay
Brazil
Ecuador
Peru
Colombia
Curacao (somewhat of a Dutch overseas territory rather than a country though)
Caribbean & North America20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
Grenada
Puerto Rico (US commonwealth but somewhat sovereign nonetheless)
Dominican Republic
Panama
Costa Rica
Mexico
United States
Canada
Europe28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
Austria
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Serbia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
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60.
61.
62.
63.
Switzerland
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Vatican City
My Services
As stated in my introduction, I not only promote tourism but investment and trade as well. Typically
when working with tourist boards and/or consulates, my strategy is to first develop a sophisticatedly
thorough yet user-friendly website, then have a business convention/fair and finally launch the website.
Indeed, this website should function as travelers’ one-stop-shop for all their Romania-related needs.
Equally, however, this website should foster trade and investment.
Although billboard ads, documentaries, TV commercials and a sophisticated institutional voice
recording phone system are all conducive to the end goal, the key to successful promotion really starts
with a user-friendly and technologically advanced website. The bottom line is that this website ultimately
needs to reach out and grab web viewers. This website could be linked to other websites such as Lonely
Planet, Fodor’s, Rough Guides, Frommer's and even MySpace and Facebook! Moreover, this website
should be among the first links to pop up when the words ‘Romania’ and/or ‘Romanian’ are typed into any
Google or Yahoo search. I am only providing you with a couple of examples. The right kind of website
really creates endless opportunities.
As for being sophisticatedly thorough yet user-friendly, a proper website allows viewers to
immediately view exactly what they are seeking by clicking self-explanatory sections. Examples include-but
are not limited to-(1) Introduction & Fact File, (2) History, (3) Culture & Etiquette, (4) Festivals & Holidays,
(5) Music, (6) Food & Beverages, (7) Health & Safety, (8) Agritourism & Ecotourism, (9) Nature & Wildlife,
(10) An Eco-Friendly Government, (11) Scientific Research Programs, (12) Study Abroad Programs, (13)
Doing Business in Romania, (14) Exports, (15) Crafts, Arts & Traditional Markets, (16) Real Estate &
Retirement, (17) Visa Information, (18) Tourism Statistics, (19) Travel Essentials, (20) Where to Go &
Photo Gallery, (21) When to Go, (22) Traveling with Children, (23) Accommodation, (24) Arrival, Departure
& Transportation, (25) Maps, (26) Nightlife & Entertainment, (27) Sports & the Outdoors and (28) Contact
Us. Most sections should consist of content and imagery and some of them should offer video clips as
well.
Following the development of this website, the next strategic move would be to have a business
convention/fair. The idea is to link up investors with what Romania has on offer and subsequently sell
these investors ‘web space’ on the newly developed website. While the concept of web space is explained
later in this proposal, it is important to at least provide an example scenario of how this all works.
Let’s say we set up a “Food & Beverages” section at this convention. At this section, fine
Romanian wines are offered. Since we have invited representatives from major supermarkets, they now
discover that Romanian wines deserve a stronger presence in their stores’ multiple locations. We ensure
them that Romanian wines are made in a sustainable way from local communities that truly benefit from
exporting these products. Now we have them sold. In addition to selling them on the idea of importing
Romanian wines, we offer to sell them web space under the newly developed website’s “Food &
Beverages” section. In other words, in this section, we’d first explain to viewers what fine wines Romania
has on offer and then we would provide these viewers with images. We would subsequently list wheresuch as Whole Foods and Ralphs-people could buy such wines provided that these supermarkets routinely
pay for being advertised on the website.
There are so many types of specific investors that I would invite to the convention/fair and of
course, it is impossible to list them all in this proposal. Representatives from the History Channel,
supermarkets, agritourism and ecotourism agencies, environmental groups, scientific research institutions,
public and private universities, real estate companies, hotel investment firms and sporting goods stores are
all obvious draws, but there are others as well. To state once again, one of my key services typically
involves linking up investors with what a country has on offer and subsequently selling these investors web
space on the newly developed website.
How the Romanian Consulate Benefits from the Website
The Romanian Consulate’s most obvious benefit from the website would be having it serve as the
nexus of increasing tourism, trade and investment. However, the website would also save the consulate
time and money. As an example, fewer brochures and DVDs would need to be mailed out to the public.
11766 WILSHIRE BLVD, SUITE 560, LOS ANGELES, CA 90025
PHONE: (310) 477-0197, FAX: (310) 445-0043
E-MAIL:consul.economic@consulateromania.net
Moreover, most needs would be addressed via the website, thus allowing consulate workers more time to
work on other projects.
The Romanian Consulate also benefits by having the website make money. Specifically, we could
sell web space. For example, under the website’s ‘Accommodation’ section, we could only list hotels,
pensions, etc. that routinely pay to be listed. This, in essence, is the concept behind the selling of web
space. To provide a more specific example, let’s consider the ‘Real Estate & Retirement’ section. We
could entice viewers to at least consider retiring in Romania by displaying some images and content
followed by an alluring video clip of some apple-pie Americans discussing their paradisiacal and relatively
inexpensive lifestyle shared with fellow Americans. Following all that, we could list companies that assist
with real estate purchases in Romania. Companies such as Re/Max are often willing to pay for such web
space.
We could also sell video ads. As stated earlier, we should add short video clips to some of the
website’s sections. Take, for example, the section ‘Nightlife & Entertainment’. When compiling a video that
gives viewers a taste of nightlife in Romania’s major destinations, we could routinely charge participating
clubs and bars to be aired on these video clips. By employing this method, we expose viewers both to
Romania’s general nightlife and entertainment and some of its specific hotspots. In the end, everyone
wins.
Costs
A good project should pay for itself, not just indirectly but often directly as well. However, I can
appreciate any budgetary concerns. My pride is not in finding out how much money I can get out of you. My
passion is in knowing I always deliver the absolute best product around and most importantly, that I haveeven in a small way-helped make the world somewhat of a better place. Nevertheless, we all have
budgetary constraints. I would be more than happy to work together to save the consulate money,
especially by encouraging the consulate to use its own personnel to gather the necessary data
(photography, video clips, hotel and restaurant information, etc.) for any project I am assigned.
At the end of the day, I can tailor my services pursuant to the consulate’s needs. As for quotes, we
can do this one of two ways. You could specify what services you would like and I could quote accordingly.
Alternatively, you could tell me what the consulate’s budget is and I could provide you with a list of
recommended services and their related costs. While the former option is undoubtedly more popular, the
latter option tends to be popular with those who work with a very tight budget.
Please rest assure that we need not undertake some huge project with substantial costs. I realize
that ultimately, I must gain your confidence and trust. Small projects are fine with me, as long as I know
that I am contributing somehow to Romania’s progress in expanding as an investment, trade and tourism
center.
Conclusion
Please note that while I do stress the importance of a proper website, my services far exceed
web development. As I alluded to earlier in this proposal, I can work with conferences/fairs, billboard ads,
documentaries, TV commercials and/or a sophisticated institutional voice recording phone system.
Equally, however, I could also work with promoting specific business projects between Romania and the
US. The promotional services I offer are really broad and numerous. Please express to me how I can be of
assistance and it would be my pleasure to help in any way I can.
Charles Stathoulis
charlesstathoulis@yahoo.com
(562) 964-8555 cellular
Please note that I work with a video and photography specialist who has 17 years experience in the
business. To get an idea of his quality photography and video-making, please visit www.yourphotoguy.com
Also, I work with a graphic designer who has 11 years experience in the business. To get an idea of his
quality web design work, please visit www.noendz.com
11766 WILSHIRE BLVD, SUITE 560, LOS ANGELES, CA 90025
PHONE: (310) 477-0197, FAX: (310) 445-0043
E-MAIL:consul.economic@consulateromania.net