Climate change and the start of school are shaping off-season travel

Traditionally, the high season at Lake Balaton was counted from the beginning of July to August 20, but nowadays, due to the warmer period at the end of summer, the last week of August is also considered high season. After that, the more affordable off-season period begins.

Due to climate change and more frequent hot days, interest in northern destinations has also increased: for example, the number of tourists in Sweden and Denmark has increased from 5 million to 7 million, which represents an increase of 30–40 percent. Although Spain, Italy, France and Greece continue to lead the tourist rankings in absolute terms, the Nordic countries are much more popular in percentage terms than before.

Hungarian tourists are also happy to visit Croatia in September, especially on weekends. In autumn, however, city visits are increasingly becoming more important: German castles, Salzburg, Vienna, the Austrian border towns and Krakow are particularly popular destinations.

In the off-season, the Greek islands – Crete, Corfu, Rhodes – and the Turkish coast are still accessible, and in Turkey the weather is also pleasant in October for a beach holiday. Egypt and Tunisia are considered stable destinations all year round. With the expansion of low-cost flights, new destinations have also become popular, for example, southern Italy and the area around Bari.

“Those who are not tied to the start of school still travel to the beach in September, while others prefer shorter, 4-5-day city visits, car and bus tours,” added Róbert Richárd Kiss.