Hungarian tourism could close a record year – 1,000 billion in accommodation fee revenue, 1,000 billion airport development planned

Budapest’s tourism indicators are also strong at the European level: the capital has overtaken Prague, Bratislava and Warsaw, and is already steadily behind Vienna. Autumn traffic is also increasing at Lake Balaton, which is an important step in the implementation of four-season tourism – said the president of the MTÜ.

Guller highlighted that the government has launched a development worth more than 1,000 billion forints in the area around Liszt Ferenc International Airport. The plans include the construction of a third terminal by 2035, the construction of an airport express train between Nyugati Pályaudvar and Ferihegy (with a journey time of 20 minutes), and related road developments. The aim is for the airport to be capable of serving 40 million passengers per year and for Budapest to become a modern air gateway for Central Europe.

Speaking about the future of the Sziget Festival, Guller said that the cancellation of the event would not represent a serious loss for tourism. The number of visitors to Budapest during the festival does not even reach one percent of the annual tourist traffic.

The president of the MTÜ also spoke about the economic benefits of peace: during the war years, one million Russian guest nights and significant Israeli inbound traffic were lost, but with the start of the Middle East peace process, this can be quickly rebuilt. “The Israeli ambassador indicated that 17 tour operators are preparing to come to Hungary, which means that inbound tourism will soon get a new boost,” he added.

Zoltán Guller also announced that the first client of the Kisfaludy Tourism Credit Center, an accommodation provider from Cseresfalu, received a 10 million forint grant to build a new guest room – this marked the beginning of the practical implementation of the program.