Very bad trip? British travellers in late communist Romania

From the end of the 1950s, the Romanian communist regime placed great hopes in forging links with Britain and developing its tourist industry. Optimism about the country’s attractiveness was expressed in William Forwood’s Rumanian Invitation (1968). However, such hopes were soon dashed as the country turned towards austerity and autarky. By the late 1980s, a very negative view of late communist Romania was conveyed by British visitors Richard Bassett, Lesley Chamberlain and, to a lesser extent, Guy Arnold.