Fewer tourists visited Lake Balaton than expected

According to data from KSH, in January-July 2010 the signs of economic recovery were not significantly palpable in the tourism sector: fewer domestic guests were registered at commercial accommodation sites. At the same time, the number of foreign guests increased: in the first seven months of the year 1,842,000 foreign guests spent 5,138,000 nights at commercial accommodation sites – the number of guests and guest nights both increased, by 6 and 2 percent, respectively. Four- and five-star hotels were doing especially well, the number of guests improved by 20 percent and the number of guest nights augmented by 12-18 percent. In the same period 2,185,000 domestic guests spent 5,351,000 nights at commercial accommodation sites, this means that 3 percent fewer guests spent 1 percent fewer nights than a year earlier. The number of guest nights spent at Lake Balaton fell by 8 percent: guest turnover in medicinal hotels diminished by 8 percent, but in wellness hotels 1.5 times more guest nights were spent. In the examined period the utilisation ratio of hotel rooms was 43 percent on average – up 2 percentage points from 2009.