He says its success is proven by its 12-year existence. Maybe in need of a laugh during the crisis, visitors flock to a make-believe nation built on humor and parody.

The Wallachian kingdom makes money several ways – for example, by offering tastings of its famed plum brandy, slivovitza. But its biggest source of revenue is the Wallachian passport, which is sold to the tourists.

There are around 90, 000 citizens of this make-believe nation, once including George W. Bush, given a passport by Wallachia’s representative living in Texas. But Mr Bush’s citizenship was revoked in 2003, after the U.S. invaded Iraq.

But pretend passports have produced confusion – a Pakistani man applied for asylum before being told the kingdom wasn’t for real.

However most holders are proud of their passports – unique they say, like the delicacies produced at local bakeries.

The crisis means that most visitors today are Czech.

“Thanks to the crisis, the Czech people have started traveling more within their own country, and learning more about it. We have a lot to see and to offer, and hope that domestic tourism will grow,” said Filip Remenec, Spokesman for Czech Tourism.

You may or may not believe in this concocted country – but it has certainly captured the imagination of many. One day, the prime minister of the kingdom, whose day job is running a mountaintop restaurant, met Helmut Kohl at a football game. In response to the Walachian prime minister’s introduction Mr Kohl responded, “I am the former chancellor of Germany”.