Hungarian tourists spend more and more abroad

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 09. 06. 11:43

The trips and spending of Hungarians abroad increased significantly in the second quarter of 2024, although the numbers are still below the levels before the COVID-19 epidemic, according to the latest data from the KSH. According to Bank360.hu’s summary, the number of foreign trips increased by 4-6 percent compared to last year: 3.5 million one-day trips and 2.16 million multi-day trips took place. And foreign spending rose even more.

Hungarians are especially happy to shop abroad. During one-day trips, they spent an average of HUF 45.5 thousand, which is a 20 percent increase compared to the previous year, while on multi-day shopping trips, they left HUF 191 thousand per person, which means an increase of 33.3 percent. The lower VAT of neighboring countries contributed to foreign purchases, which makes it more worthwhile to purchase some products abroad.

Accommodation and catering continue to be the biggest expense item for multi-day trips. Hungarians spent HUF 108.5 billion on these between April and June, which represents a 58 percent increase compared to the previous year. The import of foreign consumer durables also increased: HUF 4.2 billion worth of goods were brought home during multi-day trips, which shows an increase of 68 percent.

Although the number of trips increased, it still did not reach the level of 2019. At that time, 3.8 million one-day and 2.4 million multi-day trips took place, so in 2024 the number of travelers will be even hundreds of thousands less. In addition, the average duration of multi-day trips has also become shorter: while in 2019 a trip abroad lasted an average of 6.4 days, this year it was only 5.7 days.