MTÜ: BAHART’s passenger numbers last year broke a decades-old record

According to MTÜ’s announcement, the number of passengers on ferries stood out among the ships, more than 1 million 423 thousand people chose the ferry service. The ferries traveled a total of 50,000 kilometers, a distance ten thousand kilometers more than the length of the equator. The number of delivered bicycles also increased significantly, by more than 16 percent compared to the previous year.

The state-owned Balaton Shipping Company closed the 2023 Balaton shipping season with outstanding passenger traffic. As a result of the strong summer traffic, it was already possible to reach over 2 million passengers during the passenger cruise season. By the end of October, the turnover of both ferries and passenger ships exceeded last year’s and even 2019’s figures. The upward trend continued in the last months of the year. The turnover of passenger ships increased by 3.5 percent on an annual basis compared to 2022, more than 724,000 people boarded BAHART’s ships this year. The number of people traveling by ferry increased by almost 10 percent compared to the data for 2019, and proved to be better than the previous year as well. The number of delivered bicycles reached 130,000, breaking all previous records. Significant turnover during the holiday period also contributed to the year-end results. The compressed, 30-minute schedule, the favorable weather, and the numerous programs on the shores of Lake Balaton also had a positive effect on the desire to travel.