Overtourism awaits Budapest, while the number of guests from rural areas is stagnating

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 08. 30. 10:25

In July, the number of domestic guests and the number of nights they spent in Hungary continued to decrease, while the presence of foreign guests showed a dynamic increase, especially in Budapest, according to the latest data from the Central Statistical Office (KSH). Budapest’s situation is so different from national trends that there is even a danger of over-tourism – the G7 writes in a recent article.

Although tourism revived after the coronavirus epidemic, the decline in domestic tourism is becoming more and more evident. The role of Hungarian guests is decreasing more and more: either they do not choose a domestic destination, or they prefer to travel abroad. As a result, domestic tourism increasingly relies on foreign visitors.

In July, 1.3 million domestic guests spent 3.9 million nights in Hungarian accommodation, which means a 0.5 percent decrease in the number of guests and a 0.3 percent decrease in the number of nights. In contrast, the number of foreign guests increased to 1 million, they spent a total of 2.8 million nights in the country. This means an 11 percent increase in guests and a 5.4 percent increase in overnight stays.

Since the end of the coronavirus epidemic, domestic tourism has been bringing in lower and lower guest numbers, especially in the summer season, where the number of foreigners is getting closer and closer to that of Hungarians, and has already reached it in winter.

The number of domestic guests in the capital is seasonally constant, while the number of foreigners shows strong seasonal fluctuations. Last August, for example, 888,000 foreign guest nights were recorded in Budapest, which is the highest so far. However, based on the data from July this year, this record may also be broken, although last year’s numbers were also increased by the World Athletics Championships.