Visit Hungary: 45% more guests were welcomed at Lake Balaton this Pentecost

70% of the national guest turnover was enjoyed by rural destinations. In the first summer heat wave, 14% more domestic travelers, 169 thousand, sought relief in the domestic regions than during last year’s holiday long weekend. The domestic summer campaign of Visit Hungary also fueled the Hungarians’ travel spirit. After Budapest, the most of our compatriots targeted Siófok, Balatonfüred and Szeged. Surprisingly many Hungarian guests also switched off in the capital, where 17% more domestic travelers were registered compared to last year, who spent 9% more nights in Budapest accommodations.

Surpassing last year’s holiday long weekend by almost 31%, 119 thousand foreign tourists celebrated Pentecost in Hungary this year. Nearly two-thirds of international travelers chose the capital again this time, where the largest number of them arrived from the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States of America, Romania and Israel. At the same time, 37% more, 44 thousand international tourists, were received in the countryside, primarily from Germany, Romania, Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland. Most foreigners sought accommodation in Hévíz, Siófok and Hajdúszoboszló, i.e. also seaside or spa towns.

Hotels also did well at Pentecost: 48% of travelers stayed in hotels, and 32% chose private and other accommodation. Four-star hotels dominated among both domestic and international tourists, with 53% of domestic guests and 54% of foreigners staying in hotels of this category. Their occupancy rate also resembled the summer high season, reaching 73%. Data from the National Tourism Data Service Center also revealed that the oldest guest of the Canikula holiday weekend was 100 years old and stayed in a community accommodation in Budapest, while the youngest was a baby of only a few months old and was resting with his parents in a four-star hotel in the capital.

The high-season peak traffic also set records in the income of accommodation facilities: the holiday enriched the accommodation facilities with a total of 12.1 billion forints, exceeding the result of last year’s Whitsun weekend by 35%.