BAHART closed the most successful main season

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 09. 05. 12:03

The main season of sailing on the Balaton ended at the end of August. By the end of summer, the ferries of Balatoni Hajózási Zrt. (BAHART) transported 1 million 229 thousand passengers, and the passenger ships transported 791 thousand passengers. This year, BAHART reached 2 million passengers two months earlier than last year, by the end of August, the shipping company told MTI on Thursday.

They pointed out that the success was also contributed to by the new ships entering service as a result of the HUF 6 billion subsidy provided by the government. As a result of the denser schedule created in this way, the colorful program selection and the new family discounts, traffic increased by 10 percent compared to the summer months of last year’s record year.

The popularity of the new ferries and catamarans is also shown by the fact that this year the Balaton cruise was added to the Best of Balaton list, which summarizes the most popular programs – they added.

The number of people traveling on the ferries exceeded last year’s result by 59 thousand, and more than 500 thousand passengers were transported between Szántódrév and Tihanyrév.

Gábor Veigl, the general manager of BAHART, noted in the announcement that the importance of ferries goes beyond the number of passengers, as they play a decisive role in supporting transport between lakeside settlements, reducing vehicle traffic and emissions.

The turnover of passenger ships increased by 134,000 by the end of this season. Most people, 120,000, traveled with the new catamaran Tomaj, while the nostalgia ship Jókai, which is returning to the fleet, was the second most popular classic ship after the Helka. Most people started their cruises from the ports of Balatonfüred, Keszthely, Siófok, Balatonlelle and Balatonalmádi, while the most significant increase in scheduled sailings took place on the most popular Fonyód-Badacsony route – explained BAHART.

It was highlighted: the long weekend of August 17-20 was the busiest period of the year for BAHART: on the 19th alone, passenger ships and ferries carried around 19,000-19,000 passengers.