The number of domestic tourist visitors fell sharply

The Central Statistics Office (KSH) reported a decline in domestic tourist visitor traffic in the first half of 2023 and in the first seven months of 2023. It was not mentioned in the announcement, but the data updated since then shows that while the number of guest nights for domestic tourists decreased by 8 percent compared to the same period last year, there is no question of a decline in the trips of Hungarians abroad, there is a great expansion in all respects.

According to Bank360.hu’s summary, in the first six months of this year Hungarian citizens traveled abroad a total of 9.8 million times, which is about 20 percent higher than the number of trips in the first half of 2022 (but still below the 11.7 million registered in the record year of 2019 before the epidemic ). The time spent abroad also increased: from 21.2 million to 26.8 million days, which is an increase of 26 percent.

The amount spent on foreign trips jumped even more than this: by 45 percent at current prices compared to a year ago, to HUF 590 billion. Hungarians left the majority of this, HUF 522 billion, in European countries, and the rest in American and Asian states. In terms of the amount spent abroad, Hungarians have already surpassed the first six months of the peak year of 2019. However, the 406 billion at that time migrated abroad during a much stronger forint.