Visit Hungary: St. Stephen’s Day program series attracted 23 percent more guests to Budapest

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 08. 26. 10:48

The St. Stephen’s Day program series attracted 23 percent more guests to Budapest this year compared to last year, with 35 percent more domestic and 20 percent more foreign tourists arriving in the capital between August 16 and 20, Visit Hungary told MTI on Tuesday.

According to their information, accommodations in the capital registered 133,000 foreign and 26,000 domestic tourists during this period.

Many foreigners were lured to Budapest by Visit Hungary’s successful international campaign promoting St. Stephen’s Day programs that has been running since July. This is also thanks to the fact that accommodations were able to enjoy a total of 300,000 guest nights during these days, 16 percent more than last year, they added.

They emphasized that it has been proven once again that large events and outstanding attractions attract guests like a magnet, and can even fill accommodations on a midweek day. For example, the occupancy rate of accommodation facilities in the capital exceeded 74 percent on August 19 this year, resulting in a 12-point increase in occupancy compared to this time last year. The occupancy rate of hotels was close to 80 percent, which is 7.3 percentage points higher than a year earlier.

Olivér Csendes, CEO of Visit Hungary, explained in the statement that nearly 40 percent of international guests came from the countries targeted by the campaign, Italy, Germany and Poland, as well as Romania and the United Kingdom.

Visit Hungary distributed more than six thousand copies of its publication entitled Treasures of Budapest, which presents the main sights of the Hungarian capital, to three-, four- and five-star hotels in Budapest. The attention to room preparation was also complemented by a QR code bookmark, which guided guests through the festive programs and helped them approach the program locations, he added.

Based on mobile data, the three most visited spots in the capital between August 16-20 were the locations hosting the festive events: the area around the Parliament, Margaret Island and the Castle Garden Bazaar, they said.

Domestic visitors to Budapest mainly arrived from Debrecen, Miskolc, Nyíregyháza, Pécs and Szeged and stayed in the capital for several days during the St. Stephen’s Day events. And 13 percent more domestic one-day visitors came to Europe’s largest fireworks display this year from all corners of the country.