Outstanding figures - 7 million tourists in Hungary in June-August

It is worth opening a new hotel, this also shows that the situation of Hungarian tourism is good, said the Minister of National Economy at an event held at the Kimpton Bem Hotel, at the beginning of his assessment of tourism trends for 2024.

Tourism is booming in Hungary, as our peak season has exceeded all expectations.

Never before have so many tourists travelled to Hungary as this summer, with the number of both domestic and foreign tourists attesting this, Márton Nagy continued. Hungarian tourism is almost outperforming the rest of the continent, with Hungary 150% ahead of the European average growth in nights spent in commercial accommodation, he said.

Nearly 7 million tourists spent time at accommodation establishments in Hungary in June-August, up 9% year-on-year.

the number of Guest nights grew by 3%, setting a new record of nearly 18 million.

Airport figures

Nagy kicked off his presentation of the trends with the number of trips through the airport. He said Budapest Airport never before handled as many passengers as it did this year up to August, and that they expect the total number of passengers to reach 17.5 million this year, which would be one million more than the previous peak.

(According to data by Budapest Airport, the growth would actually be over 1.3 million compared to 16.17 million recorded in 2019, the year before the coronavirus pandemic. In 2020, the number of passengers plummeted to an all-time low of 3.86 million.)

Nagy also mentioned that they see a 50% increase in cargo traffic this year to 270,000 tonnes.

Total cargo traffic amounted to about 185,000 tonnes at the end of August, so with a 22,000 tonne monthly average, the above estimate would be met. However, 270,000 tonnes would mark "only" a 34% yr/yr growth, not 50%.

The growth in passenger traffic at Liszt Ferenc International Airport was one of the highest in the EU in the first half of 2024 (16.3% year-on-year), with an average passenger load factor of 80%, he said. According to airport data, the biggest increases were seen in Spanish, Italian and Swiss visitors.

Hungarians abroad

The minister also talked about where Hungarians travelled abroad: Croatia was the number one destination, with an 11% increase in the number of Hungarians travelling to Croatia in the first eight months of the year. Márton Nagy said the impact of the European Football Championships and the Olympics was also significant.

Huge sums of money were spent by Hungarians in Germany,

the minister said, referring to the European Football Championship.

Domestic tourism

Besides a strong demand from foreign tourists, domestic tourism is also picking up again, Nagy went on to say. As for domestic tourists, he said that more of them travel within the borders, although they spend less time in accommodation.

He said the SZÉP Card (i.e. The one of the most popular fringe benefits in Hungary) continued to be the engine of domestic tourism in the summer months of 2024.

"Never before have so many of our fellow citizens vacationed within the country's borders and never before have so many international tourists visited our country," he continued.

In summer 2024, the number of foreign visitors was 3.1 million, 15.3% more than in 2023 and 19.7% higher than in 2019.

The number of overnight stays at Lake Balaton increased by 3.9% compared to the previous year, and is 5.9% higher than in 2019, the minister said.

He also highlighted figures beyond the airport's scope. Most international visitors come from Germany, but there is also a significant increase in Chinese, Spanish and Turkish arrivals. These are figures that give a picture of the total arrivals of all types, he said.

 He stressed that some tourists, such as those from Germany, the USA and China, spend more than others.

 There is a need to build new hotels, but we need to open up to 3 and 4 star hotels, he explained.

Lake Balaton

When Portfolio asked the minister about the possible reasons for the slowdown in spending in Hungary, Márton Nagy explained that this year there were some specific effects, as Hungarians travelled abroad and spent money there due to the European Football Championships and the Olympics.

These are special situations, and they have sucked spending away from Hungary, he said. In addition to this, he noted it was positive that more people were participating in domestic tourism and more people thought they could afford a holiday than last year.

He also shared his views on the specific situation of Lake Balaton, in response to Portfolio's questions. The aim is to be able to lengthen the summer season, and to do this, we need to increase demand, for example on weekends in the autumn.

But this requires, first and foremost, that the usual restaurants and catering establishments are open. From there, the question is how to get more restaurants to open at weekends outside the summer season, because the entrepreneur is taking a risk.

This is where the state can step in, even with a targeted support programme. We are planning to launch a scheme whereby the state will give subsidies to restaurant operators who are open at weekends.

We have enough money this year to launch this programme for hospitality operators this year with tourism funding, he explained.

Local businesses need to be persuaded to take a risk and stay open for the weekend, he added.

In response to another question, he said that this targeted support could be opened up to other regions, but that it should be implemented for Lake Balaton.

The problem is not just that there are no guests, but also that there is no workforce, with many of Austria's draining power sending workers to neighbouring ski resorts during the winter season,

he explained.

In order to keep workers here, higher wages are needed, and this will be achieved through an increase in the minimum wage. This, in turn, will increase the costs for contractors, which will make services on Lake Balaton more expensive, Márton Nagy admitted.

Top ministry

"I will accept whatever the Prime Minister decides," Márton Nagy said in response to a question on whether he would be a top minister [after the planned merger of the Economy Ministry and the Finance Ministry].

He recalled Viktor Orbán's announcement, specifically the fact that György Matolcsy's mandate [as Governor of the central bank] will expire next year, and that there will be an institutional restructuring with the merger of two ministries. The Prime Minister will decide who, what and where will be in charge. If the Economy Ministry's remit is expanded, we will not approach it from a power perspective, we see it as a service, he added.

Minimum wage

It will rise to HUF 377,000 from HU 266,000 currently, this is the long-term plan. The aim is to reach 50% of the average wage, he said. This should be interpreted as meaning that if one is familiar with the minimum wage negotiations, employers and employees agree there. All minimum wages are to be in effect from 1 January. (With this he referred to an extraordinary measure last year when the raise to the minimum wage and the wage minimum for skilled workers was implemented on 1 December 2023.)

The minimum wage of €1,000 will be reached from 1 January 2028, he said.

In his view, a 3-year wage agreement could be reached, which would mean an annual increase of 11-12%.

Spar vs. Hungary

Nagy was asked if the government is at war with Spar. The minister reiterated that the EU court had sided with the global multinationals. Ever since Spar attacked the Hungarian government and its leader when the owner made a statement, and Spar took the Hungarian government to court, it is hard to say that Spar has not entered the political arena.

Spar has started to play politics, and in this space the rules are different,

he said.

Airport traffic

In response to a question, he acknowledged that higher traffic volumes are associated with higher environmental pressures and noise emissions. The government is working to reduce this, but it is not a short-term plan, he said, underlining:

• Budapest airport is on the outskirts of the city, not in the city. This is unique.
• This is not a 24-hour airport.

He also stressed that if airport traffic continues to grow, it would seem a logical step to decouple freight traffic, but he did not give any concrete details at this stage.

Cover photo: MTI Photo/Zoltán Balogh