More foreigners, staying for shorter periods

The number of nights spent at commercial places of accommodation by foreign and domestic guests only grew by 0.9 per cent in the January – November 2007 period, compared to the preceding year. Total revenues for commercial places of accommodation increased by 4 per cent, with room revenues showing an increase of 6 per cent. A total of 9.6 million nights had been spent by 3.2 million foreign guests in the above period. In spite of more guests, the number of nights shows stagnation. The number of guests from the EU continues to remain lower than it was in 2006. The number of guests from Germany was 8 per cent down compared to 2006. Regarding hotel categories, growth in terms of nights was only recorded in 5 and 3 star hotels. Wellness hotels produced the largest increase with 7 per cent. A total of 9.3 million nights had been spent by 3.7 million domestic guests in the above period. The number of guests increased by 3 per cent, while the number of nights was up by 2 per cent. The number of nights showed growth in all categories, except the 2 star category. Commercial places of accommodation generated total revenues of HUF 227 billion in the above period, which is 4 per cent more than a year ago. Room revenues grew by 7 per cent. Prices were up by 5.8 per cent compared to the previous year. The gross average room rate was HUF 15,000 in November 2007. The number of guests staying in the Balaton region increased for the first time in 2007, after several years of stagnation. Total revenues in the January – November period were HUF 19.3 billion – 12 per cent more than a year before. Room revenues in Budapest were significantly down (by 14 per cent) compared to 2006, though revenues from foreign guests grew by 1 per cent. Hotels operated at 51 per cent capacity on average in the above period, which was 1.8 per cent better than a year before. Of the 158,000 beds available for commercial purposes, 61 per cent was operated by hotels at the end of November 2007.