A digital competence center will be established to support small tourism businesses

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 11. 12. 11:45

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A consortium led by the Hungarian Tourism Quality Certification Board Nonprofit Ltd. will establish a digital competence center for domestic SMEs operating in the tourism and hospitality sector with 1.216 billion forints of EU support – the Hungarian Tourism Quality Certification Board announced to MTI on Wednesday.

They announced that the development will reduce the administrative burden of domestic micro, small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the tourism and hospitality sector, increase their digital preparedness and adaptability with a national-scale digital competence development program that effectively supports everyday practice.

According to the information, the digital maturity of Hungarian tourism is average in comparison with the EU. The use of digital technologies among SMEs is sporadic, and many businesses do not have their own website, online booking or customer relationship system. The introduction of the National Tourism Data Service Center (NTAK) was a step forward, but data-based decision-making is not common among service providers. The Central Tourism Digital Competence Base to be created will make up for this.

According to their statement, the project will integrate the on-site mobile payment system, the one-stop gateway to the digital tourism space, and a central online sales system that supports the digital sales of accommodation and experience-based services. The technologies used include cloud-based systems, data integration modules, and recommendation systems supported by artificial intelligence.

The national networks of the consortium members – the National Association of Rural and Agrotourism, the Hungarian Spa Association and the Hungarian Youth Accommodation Association – enable the project to be accessible to tourism SMEs in both personal and digital form, providing professional support in seven regions, with educational tools such as personal and online mentoring, as well as awareness-raising programs and workshops highlighting the benefits of digitalization.

The development and mentoring programs will be implemented with the active participation of at least 200 SMEs in the project, which will run until 15 May 2027. are being implemented, while its results can reach approximately 10 thousand tourism service providers. The project, implemented within the framework of the Széchenyi Plan Plusz program and with the support of the Digital Renewal Operative Program (DIMOP) Plusz, contributes to increasing the competitiveness and sustainability of domestic tourism, as well as creating new jobs – they wrote.