Taking the car for a drive: Automobile tourism in socialist Romania, 1960-19891

"In 1965, my husband decided to sell the house he inherited from his parents and buy an automobile. At that time, the only option was to buy from the Soviet Union. We applied and after three years the car arrived. Although we waited a long time, it was worth it. We drove all over the country, and even went to Bulgaria for a while, to the Golden Sands."² This is how Elena O., an interviewee from Câmpina, Prahova, a professional worker (and for some years now retired), begins her story about vacations and travels during the communist years.

In the 1960s, automobile tourism became a priority for the communist regime in Romania, coming with the promise of raising the population's standard of living and the intention to develop tourism. With the abandonment of staple food rationing in the early 1960s, thanks to economic growth that allowed consumption to relax, socialist Romania entered a period of liberalization and even, compared to the 1950s, of abundance. Although th