Tourism companies’ expectations have improved for the second month in a row

By: Trademagazin Date: 2026. 03. 31. 11:24

🎧 Hallgasd a cikket: Nyelv: Sebesség: 1.05×

The TKI index stood at -4 points in March 2026 (on a scale between -100 and +100), which means that the sector’s players perceived their situation as slightly negative. The index value increased slightly further in the third month of the year after the previous month’s significant increase, but is still 3 points below its value a year ago. In the accommodation and other tourism sectors, the index increased by 8 points each in one month, while in the catering sector the index decreased by 7 points.

In March, the TKI index exceeded the service sector business cycle index measured in the GKI EU business cycle research by 4 points (-8 points), the GKI business confidence index representing the national economy average (-12 points), and the industry (-11 points), construction (-26 points) and trade indices (-18 points).

If we compare the TKI index in March 2026 with the one year earlier (March 2025), we experience a decrease of 3 points. Among the sub-sectors, in an annual comparison, accommodation services improved by 2 points, other tourism sectors by 1 point, while hospitality decreased by 9 points in one year.

Regarding the entire tourism sector, all regions indicated worsening prospects. Based on the six-month moving average aimed at smoothing out seasonality, there is already an improvement in the case of Southern Transdanubia and Northern Hungary in March. The strong improvement of Western Transdanubia in the past 2 months is also striking.

In March 2026, the tourism employment expectation index (+9 points) exceeded the value of the index calculated for the service sector measured in the GKI business survey conducted for the EU (-2 points), as well as the national economy average (0 points). It also exceeded the indices of industry (+2 points), trade (-6 points) and construction (-8 points).

74% of tourism companies reported an increase in operating costs over the past 3 months, with an average increase of 9%. 51% of companies reported an increase in service prices over the past 3 months. The price increase was 4% on average. The gap between operating costs and service price increases narrowed in March compared to the previous month.

The National Association of Tourism and Hospitality Employers (VIMOSZ), together with the Hungarian Tourism Association Foundation and GKI Economic Research Ltd., measures the expected development of the tourism economy on a monthly basis and publishes the Tourism Economy Index, thereby providing the market and the public with information on the trends expected in the near future.