Tourism in Hungary 2005

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www.hungary.com Talent for entertaining HUNGARY To the Reader General Information

I am pleased to welcome you on behalf of the new tourism management of Hungary. Tourism as one of the leading strategic sector of Hungarian economy was given high priority in the new government, as well. As of Summer 2006 tourism together with sport and regional development is supervised by the Ministry of Munici- palities and Regional Development which ensures the synergy of these issues.

Spring 2006 - as in the previous years – we have summarized the ma-

in figures and trends of Hungary's tourism performance based on the and Figures Facts preliminary figures of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office. The final data published in June indicated more positive results. Based on the final figures, we have updated the 'Tourism in Hungary 2005 CD' which I am pleased to recommend to all the professionals and all other enquirers. During the first year as member of the European Union Hungary's tourism achieved very good results beyond our expectations: the number of arrivals and guest nights reached a record over the last fifteen years. The number of guest nights almost reached the 20 million 'dream' record. We are specially pleased that domestic tourism was characterized by a more dynamic growth than inbound tourism. Furthermore, the popular holiday voucher system realized an

all-time record last year, as well. Organizational Structure

Developments in the coming years will result a 'transition' in tourism. The tourism sector will have the main benefits thanks to the 'New Hun- gary' development plan. The total sum of 250 billion HUF for development can induce investments in a value of 1,000 billion HUF in the coming seven years. Based on the priorities of the national tourism development plan, developments should be focusing on the strengths/break-out points. These includes health tourism, MICE tourism and the all-year-round attractive Lake Balaton. The ministry pays also attention to make sure that non-touristic developments are fulfilled in accordance with interests of the tourism sector.

Government offers development funds and cooperation opportunities to tourism companies. But, in order to increase tourism service quality, and to the continous development of the tourism supply it is essential to know the strengths, weaknesses and needs. National Tourism Development Strategy National Tourism It is my heart-felt desire to see the information provided here become a useful daily companion for all the readers of this publication!

Budapest, 31 August 2006

dr. Mónika Lamperth Minister of Municipalities and Regional Development

Tourism in Hungary 2005 2 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 Content General Information

Welcome by Mónika Lamperth dr., Minister of Municipalities and Regional Development 2 General Information about Hungary 4 Facts and Figures 5 Hungary’s Position in International Tourism 5 The Economic Importance of Tourism in Hungary 6 Tourism in Hungary in 2005 6 Incoming Tourism 6 Domestic Tourism 13 Facts and Figures Facts Outgoing Tourism 15 Arrivals and Guest Nights at Commercial and Private Accommodation 15 The Travelling Habits of the Hungarian Population 24 The Organizational Structure of Tourism in Hungary 29 Parliament 29 Committee on Sport and Tourism 29 Tourism Secretariat of the Ministry of Municipalities and Regional Development 30 National Tourism Board 30

Hungarian National Tourist Office 31 Organizational Structure National Tourism Development Strategy 2005–2013 33 The Activities of the Hungarian National Tourist Office in 2005 36 Welcome by Gábor Galla dr., Chief Executive Officer of the Hungarian National Tourist Office 36 The Focuses of the Marketing Communication 37 Image of Hungary as a Tourist Destination 37 Budapest 38 Lake Balaton 40 Health Tourism 42 MICE 45 Event Tourism 47 Holiday Vouchers of Social Tourism 49 Campaigns 51 Press Relations 54 Trade Relations 55 National Tourism Development Strategy National Tourism Events of the International Travel Trade Organised in Hungary 56 Exhibitions, Fairs and Events for the General Public 57 Publications 58 Internet 59 This publication contains final data of Contact Centre 60 the Hungarian Central Statistical Marketing Research 60 Office (HCSO) for 2003–2005. Cooperation with the Trade 61 Regional Marketing Directorates 67 Exchange Rates (2005 average): Tourinform Offices 68 1 EUR = 252.73 HUF 1 USD = 213.58 HUF Foreign Network 69

Tourism in Hungary 2005 3 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 General Information about Hungary General Information

Territory:...... 93,030 sq km Population: ...... 10,097,549 (January 1, 2005) Population density: ...... 108.5 persons/sq km Capital:...... Budapest Territory:...... 525 sq km Population: ...... 1,697,343 persons (on January 1, 2005) Population density: ...... 3,248 persons/sq km Form of government: ...... Republic Official language: ...... Hungarian Public administration:...... 19 counties and Budapest Religion:...... 51.9% Roman Catholic, 15.9% Calvinist, 3.0% Lutheran, 2.6% Greek Catholic, 1.0% other Christian, 11.1% other denomination, 14.5% unaffiliated Public holidays: ...... January 1, March 15, Easter Monday, Whit Monday, May 1, August 20, October 23, November 1, December 25-26 Time zone: ...... GMT + 1 hour Daylight saving: ...... + 1 hour from the last weekend of March to the last weekend of October Currency: ...... Forint (HUF) (1 EUR = 252.73 HUF, 1 USD = 213.58 HUF) GDP 2005: ...... 102,080 million USD (21,802.3 billion HUF) GDP 2005/2004:...... 104.1% GDP per capita (2005): ...... 16,300 USD Internet penetration (2006):...... 30.3% International airports:...... Budapest, Debrecen, Pécs, Sármellék National air carrier:...... Malév Hungarian Airlines

Hungary is situated in the Carpathian Basin in East Central Europe. Geographical Location The country spans 268 km from north to south and 528 km from east to west.

Two plains, the Great Plain (Alföld) in the east and the Small Plain (Kis- Topography alföld) along the north-western border, cover more than 50% of the territory of the country. The two largest rivers are the River Danube (the length of the Hungarian section is 417 km) and the River Tisza (598 km), both flowing from north to south. The hills of Transdanubia are bordered in the north by Lake Balaton, the warmest freshwater lake in Central Europe. The mountains of the country such as the 400-700 m Bakony, Vértes, Velencei, Pilis Hills, the 400-800 m hills along the western border (Soproni, Kõszegi Hills), and the 500-1,000 m Northern Hills (Visegrádi, Börzsöny, Cserhát, Mátra, Bükk, Aggtelek-Ruda- bánya, Tokaj-Zemplén Hills), each have ranges running diagonally from north-east to south-west. The highest peak, Kékes (1,014 m), crowns the Mátra Hills.

Hungary is located in the temperate continental zone. January is the Climate coldest and August is the warmest month (with average monthly tem- peratures at -1°C and 21.3°C, respectively). Annual precipitation is 570 mm, and the number of sunny hours is 1,785.

The country is divided into nine tourist regions: Budapest and the Tourist Regions Central Danube Region, Central Transdanubia, Lake Balaton, Lake Tisza, Northern Great Plain, Northern Hungary, Southern Great Plain, Southern Transdanubia, and Western Transdanubia.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 4 Facts and Figures

Hungary’s Position in International Tourism1

In 2005 international tourism sustained its upturn that began in 2004: according to the data published by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, UNWTO, the number of international tourist arrivals increased by 5.5% in 2005 (Table 1). Table 1 International Tourist Arrivals, 2003-2005

2003 2004 2005 and Figures Facts 2005 2005/2004 million Europe 409 426 444 55.0% +4.3% Northern Europe 45 48 52 6.4% +7.1% Western Europe 136 139 141 17.5% +1.7% Central and Eastern Europe 80 89 92 11.4% +3.6% Southern/Mediterranean Europe 148 150 159 19.7% +6.2% Americas 113 126 133 16.5% +5.8% Asia and the Pacific 114 145 156 19.3% +7.4% Africa 31 33 37 4.6% +10.1% Middle East 30 36 38 4.7% +6.9% World total 697 766 808 100.0% +5.5% Source: UNWTO

Despite the various negative factors that affected world tourism, i.e. terrorism, natural disasters, exchange rates fluctuations and economic and political uncertainities, the number of international tourist arrivals reached an all-time record of 808 million. This means an increase of 42 million arrivals compared with 2004 data. Although every continent registered positive results, growth was particulary strong in Europe where 18 million more international tourist arrivals were recorded last year and in the Asia and the Pacific region (+11 million arrivals)2.

Thanks to the attractive discount prices of low cost airlines and to the continuing pent-up demand for holiday, following last few years, the volume of leisure trips increased more dynamically than the volume of business trips. Despite the positive results reported by a number of destinations, in the case of business tourism there is a trend towards cost savings which means among others that incentive travel is increasingly being combined with business meetings.

Europe has maintained her leading role in international tourism: 1 Source: WTO Barometer Survey, January 2006. the continent claimed 55.0% of all international tourist arrivals in For further information visit: www.world-tourism.org 2005. The best results were recorded in Northern Europe and 2 International tourism receipts increased by 3.4%, Southern/Mediterranean Europe. In Central and Eastern Europe reaching 548 billion EUR in 2005. which region includes Hungary as well, 92 million international 3 Based on the number of international tourist tourist arrivals (+3.6%) were registered in 2005. This means a mar- arrivals, Hungary was the 12th most visited ket share of 20.8% of the European arrivals, and a market share of destination in the world in 2002. As of 2003, 11.4% of the number of worldwide tourist arrivals. Hungary is UNWTO publishes only the TOP 10 destinations’ continuing to be one of the most popular destinations3 in world ranking.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 5 tourism, among the positive influencing factors the European Union accession, the euro exchange rates, and the increased regular and low cost air travel capacity should be outlined. Similar to the continent’s average, the number of arrivals at frontiers increased by 6.9%, international arrivals at commercial accommodation grew by 5.4% and guest nights by 2.6% in Hungary (Table 3).

The Economic Importance of Tourism in Hungary

Tourism plays an important role in Hungary’s economy. In 2004 foreign visitors to Hungary spent a total of 822 HUF billion in the coun-

try, of which tourism had a share of 596 HUF billion. The Hungarian and Figures Facts population purchased tourism services in a total value of 385 HUF billion. This together resulted tourism receipts of 983 HUF billion. The GDP of tourism was 877 HUF billion which had a share of 5.0% of total GDP of Hungary. Taking into account the indirect impacts of tourism, the contribution of tourism to Hungary’s GDP was 8.5%.

In 2004 the number of employment involved directly in tourism was 398 thousand persons which had a share of 8.9% of total employment. Together with the indirect impacts of tourism, every eighth work- place was established thanks to the sector (Table 2).

Table 2 The Economic Importance of Tourism in Hungary, 2004

Direct Direct & Indirect HUF billion % HUF billion % GDP 877 5.0 1390 8.5 000s % 000s % Employment 398 8.9 490 12.5 Source: HCSO final data

Tourism in Hungary in 2005 Incoming Tourism

Hungary recorded 38.6 million foreign arrivals in Hungary in 2005, representing an increase of 6.9% compared with 2004 (Table 3). Europe generated 97.7% of the arrivals including 56.1% from member countries of the European Union (Figure 1). The number of visitors from each of the main source markets4 showed an increase: arrivals form the United Kingdom and Norway were up by one third, along with an increase of over 10% in the number of visits from Italy, Swe- den, the Netherlands and Denmark. The rise was also characteristic of the number of visitors from Germany and Austria, although at a somewhat more modest rate. From among the emerging source mar- 4 Main source markets: Germany, United King- kets5 of Hungary, the number of Chinese visitors increased by more dom, Austria, Italy, United States of America, than 50%. The number of visitors from Poland and France rose by one Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and fifth, Japan and Spain also claimed increase of 15 and 13 percent, Sweden) and the Netherlands. respectively. The number of visitors from Romania stagnated, whilst 5 Emerging source markets: France, Spain, Japan, Russia recorded a small, Israel recorded a substantial drop. Russia, China, Poland, Israel and Romania.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 6 A A the CzechRepublic Croatia Bulgaria Bosnia-Hercegovina Belgium Austria United Kingdom Ukraine Turkey Switzerland Sweden Spain Slovenia Slovakia Serbia andMontenegro Russia Romania Portugal Poland Norway the Netherlands Moldavia Macedonia Luxembourg Lithuania Latvia Italy Ireland Greece Germany France Finland Estonia Denmark T A A E f m rmwih China from which: Canada from which: EU-15 from which: r o u s u i t e i r c s a a o r a t l i r p

c a e a l i a

a n d Arrivals atFrontiers byCountryofOrigin

t Japan Israel India USA EU-24 h e

P a c i f i c 17,556,724 10,555,848 3 3 5,172,442 2,803,248 4,704,605 4,142,433 7,238,511 3,257,943 1,774,997 5 6 , , 2 230,684 157,487 201,551 170,765 647,848 105,302 842,114 295,188 120,217 584,612 104,500 303,858 714,836 964,795 117,927 109,091 125,394 343,613 3 1 3 4 0 84,475 12,948 68,640 99,251 19,953 41,504 37,293 38,590 21,582 39,346 75,220 14,849 88,013 4 9 3 5 2 2 0 2003-2005 4 2 5,589 4,982 7 4 8 8 3 , , , , , , 0 7 4 0 6 4 6 9 9 8 8 7 4 6 1 3 0 4 18,935,108 10,743,076 3 3 2,563,715 5,548,385 3,617,979 7,434,795 1,007,216 3,136,165 1,280,140 5,236,789 6 5 , , 2 137,966 389,434 318,536 149,736 218,587 163,545 125,192 688,289 295,596 124,823 631,605 121,295 331,522 855,596 989,574 122,265 6 6 3 5 0 99,927 26,613 49,804 31,880 41,246 19,870 49,246 83,358 13,277 92,027 87,525 95,393 25,255 83,226 3 6 7 1 2 4 0 5 8 9,322 6,523 9 5 8 2 4 , , , , , , 1 9 6 1 3 9 3 8 9 1 5 8 9 1 6 2 2 4 21,619,922 11,431,221 3 3 5,599,891 2,386,590 7,322,448 3,228,999 7,445,185 1,176,292 3,198,643 1,195,369 1,018,885 7 8 , , 2 324,828 689,192 123,191 374,584 845,260 137,408 108,338 368,982 405,031 132,152 239,099 166,913 139,475 728,863 6 5 3 4 0 88,278 27,014 57,124 30,669 52,854 76,110 15,549 96,983 71,472 99,179 30,891 78,413 90,953 37,551 65,107 4 5 4 9 5 1 0 8 4 8,567 6,417 3 0 4 7 5 , , , , , , 7 5 9 4 3 0 5 6 8 4 4 3 9 5 2 0 5 1 Source: HCSO finaldata +16.1% +14.1% +39.7% +55.2% +12.0% +35.9% +18.5% +18.3% +21.9% +14.0% +16.6% +15.0% +58.7% +13.4% +15.6% +38.4% +16.6% +16.1% +13.0% +32.0% +44.0% +18.0% +33.9% + +3.8% +9.9% +5.2% +7.0% +7.9% +0.3% +8.5% +6.4% +0.7% + + + -14.3% -22.3% -10.5% 3 2 -7.1% -0,4% -5.6% -9.0% -5.5% -8.8% -1.7% - - 4 2 4 6 2 7 0 ...... 0 5 2 4 9 5 0 5 % % % % % % / 2 0 Table 3 0 4 ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ + * +/- +/- +/- + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + ------* +/-: lessthan1%change, ++ or--:morethan15%change. + or-:1-15%change, Arrivals atFrontiers byContinent utai n h aii 0.1 Africa <0.1 Pacific the and Australia Asia 0.9 1.3 America Europe 97.7 2005 (%) Tourism 2005 Source: HCSO finaldata in Hungary in Hungary Figure 1 7

Facts and Figures The arrivals from other source markets such as Belgium, the Baltic Figure 2 States, Greece, Portugal and Slovakia showed a dynamic increase of International Arrivals by Means over 15%. of Transport, 2005 (%)

Due to the geographic position of the country, a vast majority (about nine tenth) of foreigners visited Hungary by road (Figure 2). Air travel ranked second among the means of transport representing a share of 5.4%, whilst 3.9% of all visitors chose to travel to Hungary by rail. Compared with 2004, the number of arrivals by air showed the largest increase (20.5%).

Last year, the passenger flow of low cost airlines expanded rapid- ly: more than 2.2 million passengers of the over 8 million travellers registered at Budapest Airport opted for a low cost flight. The pas-

senger traffic of low cost carriers grew by 169.5% compared to and Figures Facts 2004. Road 89.9 3.4 million foreign guests spent a total of 10.8 million guest nights Air 5.4 at commercial accommodations in 2005 (Table 4). During 2005, Water 0.8 incoming tourism continued to rise that started in 2003. Thanks to Rail 3.9 this positive trend, the number of foreign guests registered at com- Source: HCSO final data mercial accommodations was up by 5.4%, while the guest nights rose by 2.6%. The proportion of foreign guests to the total number of guests was almost 50%, but their share of guest nights was higher at 54.6% due to their longer average length of stay.

Figure 3 Main Source Markets by Guest Nights 2005/2004 (%)

40 39.7

30 20.7 20

10 9.9 4.4 0 -1.7 -1.2 -3.6 -4.9 -3.2 -10 -10.2 -20

Germany United Kingdom Austria Italy USA Netherlands Denmark Sweden Finland Norway

Source: HCSO final data

In 2005 the guest nights at commercial accommodation facilities from five of the TOP 10 source countries (USA, United Kingdom, Spain, Romania and Japan) reached record figures for the last fifteen years.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 8 Ukraine Turkey United Kingdom Switzerland Sweden Spain Slovenia Slovakia Serbia andMontenegro Russia Romania Portugal Poland Norway the Netherlands Malta Luxembourg Lithuania Latvia Italy Ireland Greece Germany France Finland Estonia Denmark the CzechRepublic Cyprus Croatia Bulgaria Belgium Austria T A A A A E rmwih China from which: Canada from which: EU-15 from which: o u s f m u r t i r s i a a o e c t l r p r a

a i I e c n l

i a t a e Arrivals andGuestNightsatCommercialAccommodationbyCountryofOrigin,2005

r a n n a Japan Israel USA EU-24 d t i

o t h n e a

l P a c i f i c 2,417,173 2,173,851 2 3 N , , 112,127 268,263 174,643 302,400 131,926 113,261 223,893 745,672 143,159 242,390 2 u 9 4 56,794 16,492 18,882 52,848 19,849 58,818 62,571 18,562 42,352 39,688 48,500 14,729 97,826 29,338 99,459 22,584 35,932 42,925 50,190 61,019 31,653 17,294 48,580 2 1 1 m 2 4 2,222 5,219 7,307 6,558 5,945 3,753 0 0 8 9 6 b , , , , , 4 3 3 e 0 3 A 3 1 0 r 4 6 r 7 0 4 r 8 2 i v 2 a 0 l s 0 +17.5% +12.6% +37.9% +10.0% +16.1% +16.2% +13.0% +19.6% +25.7% +17.6% +26.6% +56.2% + C +5.5% +4.1% +9.5% +4.3% +7.8% +4.1% +0.2% +3.4% +4.5% +9.1% +8.7% + + + -27.4% -13.7% - 5 1 -9.9% -4.9% -6.2% -2.8% -5.6% -2.6% -4.4% -4.0% -4.9% -1.4% -1.1% o 2 / 2 6 5 8 5 m 5 0 . . . . . 7 4 0 3 m 7 0 - - - - - % % % % % 4 e r c 1 i 8,096,002 7,474,760 3,317,406 9 a 0 N l , 127,973 822,207 209,023 183,746 347,396 182,252 221,417 256,391 395,903 594,850 346,370 137,508 262,807 166,930 148,895 709,184 255,105 182,474 648,964 507,150 , 6

u 4 7 A 53,029 35,159 99,556 94,926 36,222 92,882 12,201 13,481 15,245 71,168 88,897 13,062 12,226 67,844 31,249 35,026 54,432 5 3 2 m 1 7 9,192 1 1 c G 6 9 8 b c , , , u , 7 9 , 5 e o 6 8 e 5 1 9 r m 7 s 9 1 7 1 6 t 9 m

N 2 o i 0 g d 0 +26.2% +29.4% +24.7% +15.0% +10.9% +39.7% +15.2% +10.9% +17.3% +13.4% +20.7% + h a +4.8% +9.1% +0.1% +9.9% +4.1% +2.2% +1.0% +4.4% +9.0% +6.5% + + + -37.0% -10.2% -29.1% 5 t t i s -1.2% -3.6% -3.6% -3.2% -7.4% -8.2% -2.2% -1.7% -8.3% -6.7% -3.1% -4.9% - 1 / o 5 2 2 8 2 7 n . 0 . . . . 7 6 0 4 7 0 - - - - - % % % % % 4 A N o L v f e i

e g n S r h g a t t 2.3 1.8 2.3 2.7 3.2 2.5 4.4 2.4 3.2 2.2 5.2 2.7 3.3 2.1 1.8 3.1 2.9 2.3 3.2 2.1 2.4 2.9 2.9 3.3 3.4 2.4 2.7 2.7 3.6 2.9 2.6 1.9 2.4 2.4 3.8 2.0 2.5 2.6 3.2 4.0 4.1 3 2 2 3 3 a t g s h y . . . . . e 1 5 9 1 2

1,984,606 1,816,268 2 2 N , , 202,377 590,135 125,031 189,830 109,941 260,027 163,519 282,069 127,658 2 u 9 4 20,496 34,923 37,657 28,309 44,289 26,899 15,042 39,899 55,572 15,137 15,528 43,401 18,914 50,255 56,697 16,040 24,651 33,800 43,600 91,278 13,670 61,917 26,261 62,685 1 0 m 1 2 4,832 5,713 5,437 4,667 3,505 2,119 9 5 1 0 4 , b , , 6 , , 4 1 e 7 4 A 5 1 8 r 7 9 5 r 6 4 r 4 2 i v 2 a 0 l s 0 +22.3% +27.9% +20.6% +27.6% +57.6% +17.1% +13.3% +37.8% +10.7% +14.4% +16.4% +13.2% +15.7% +18.9% + +4.9% +2.3% +0.5% +0.5% +4.1% +8.7% +3.4% +7.0% +5.6% +9.8% +3.0% + + + -18.6% -27.9% -10.5% -10.7% - 5 1 -2.7% -4.8% -3.3% -0.5% -2.7% -4.1% -0.7% 1 / 2 6 6 7 6 9 0 . . . . . 3 0 0 2 6 F 0 - - - - - % % % % r % 4 o m

2,357,347 6,084,949 5,685,809 8 7 N w , , 540,686 302,859 122,581 117,546 108,608 519,493 246,108 179,008 625,727 477,671 102,460 768,652 177,229 164,263 336,497 153,131 150,978 143,318 174,694 5 u 4 1 h 10,779 10,624 12,033 61,725 85,927 98,432 11,271 57,668 27,629 32,609 46,616 50,120 29,562 56,432 79,928 33,266 83,382 4 2 8 m i 6 8 9,672 8,682 c 1 9 G 2 4 5 b h , , , u , , 2 2 8 : e 6 4 e

8 8 9 r H 3 4 s Tourism 2 8 8 6 1 t o

t N 2 e i l 0 g 2005 s 0 +34.2% +30.0% +32.0% +10.1% +11.9% +12.0% +40.2% +14.3% +12.5% +18.4% +20.7% + h Source: HCSO finaldata +6.2% +6.3% +0.4% +0.3% +5.5% +4.2% +5.7% +9.4% +3.9% +4.0% + + + -11.2% -29.3% 5 t s -5.1% -2.2% -0.1% -4.0% -2.1% -2.7% -6.7% -1.6% -2.0% -7.6% -5.9% -7.3% -4.6% - 1 / in Hungary in Hungary 5 2 4 7 4 4 . 0 . . . . 2 4 7 5 2 0 - - - - - % % % % % 4 A N o Table 4 L v f e i

e g n S r h g a t t 2.2 3.2 2.2 2.4 2.9 3.0 3.1 3.1 2.4 2.6 2.7 3.5 2.9 2.6 1.8 2.3 2.4 3.5 1.7 2.4 2.3 3.2 2.8 4.1 2.2 1.9 2.2 2.7 3.0 2.5 4.0 2.4 3.3 2.1 3.5 2.7 3.2 2.1 1.8 2.7 2.7 2 2 2 3 3 a t g s h y . . . . . e 9 9 7 9 0 0

Facts and Figures Based on the number of guest nights at commercial accommoda- Figure 4 tions, the source markets of Hungary showed a major realignment in Incoming Tourism by Type 2005. From February 2005 onwards, the number of British guest of Accommodation nights continued to exceed that of Austria, the former runner-up. The 2005 (%) United Kingdom came second after Germany in terms of the overall numbers of guest nights spent at commercial accommodation. By the end of the year, Spain and France had changed places, and Poland replaced Israel in the TOP 10.

From among our main source markets, the UK and the United States both showed dynamic increases in the number of guest nights, whilst decrease was recorded for Italy, Austria, Germany and the Nether- lands. The fact that the number of arrivals at frontiers and the number of arrivals at commercial accommodations moved the opposite way

as several German, Austrian and Dutch citizens acquired second and Figures Facts homes in Hungary. From among the Nordic countries Norway showed an increase of one fifth in the number of guest nights, whilst the increase was somewhat more modest in case of Sweden. The Danes 5 star hotels 11.7 and the Finns spent fewer nights at commercial accommodations 4 star hotels 33.4 (Figure 3). 3 star hotels 29.3 2 star hotels 3.2 The number of Japanese guest nights rose by 30%, whilst Chinese 1 star hotels 0.9 guests nights was up by close to a quarter. A growth was recorded in Guesthouses 6.1 the number of guest nights from Poland, Russia, Romania and Spain. Tourist hostels 0.6 France and Israel on the other hand showed decrease in the number Youth hostels 1.4 of guest nights. From among other source markets, dynamic increas- Bungalows 1.7 es of over 10% were recorded by Irish, Portuguese, Slovak, Turkish Camping sites 11.6 and Ukrainian guests. Source: HCSO final data

Table 5 International Arrivals by Type of Accommodation, 2003-2005 2003 2004 2005 2005/2004 Hotels 2,374,674 2,744,786 2,910,774 +6.0% 5 star 331,729 432,436 512,893 +18.6% 4 star 887,770 1,114,042 1,199,699 +7.7% 3 star 965,652 1,024,785 1,047,312 +2.2% 2 star 155,027 141,393 123,368 -12.7% 1 star 34,496 32,130 27,502 -14.4% Spa hotels 283,141 318,289 346,693 +8.9% Wellness hotels - 39,429 52,261 +32.5% Guesthouses 224,187 206,144 229,474 +11.3% Tourist hostels 27,073 23,476 23,120 -1.5% Youth hostels 31,917 35,110 46,713 +33.0% Bungalows 53,454 44,402 37,945 -14.5% Camping sites 236,919 215,950 198,336 -8.2% Total 2,948,224 3,269,868 3,446,362 +5.4% Source: HCSO final data

Foreigners spent eight out of ten guest nights in a hotel and most of the guests were received in three and four star hotels (Table 5 and 6, Figure 4). The number of foreign guest nights in hotels was up by 4.4%, including an over the average growth in the number of guest nights recorded by five star (+12.2%) and four star (+10.3%) hotels as well as spa (+5.9%) and wellness (+23.2%) facilities. The number of foreign guest nights at youth hostels showed an increase of more

Tourism in Hungary 2005 10 than a third, and boarding houses recorded an increase of 6.3%, in tourist hostels the number of nights stagnated. Foreign guest nights at other types of commercial accommodation decreased between 8.4-21.3%, mostly because of the unpleasant weather of the last year.

Table 6 International Guest Nights by Type of Accommodation, 2003-2005 2003 2004 2005 2005/2004 Hotels 7,345,820 8,106,140 8,464,636 +4.4% 5 star 888,360 1,122,364 1,259,558 +12.2% 4 star 2,749,334 3,267,386 3,603,708 +10.3% 3 star 3,104,738 3,217,314 3,161,420 -1.7% 2 star 495,186 408,799 348,051 -14.9% 1 star 108,202 90,277 91,899 +1.8% Facts and Figures Facts Spa hotels 1,364,620 1,486,083 1,573,216 +5.9% Wellness hotels - 171,574 211,307 +23.2% Guesthouses 700,546 622,542 661,886 +6.3% Tourist hostels 77,118 68,817 69,085 +0.4% Youth hostels 129,679 111,792 150,144 +34.3% Bungalows 303,865 238,014 187,328 -21.3% Camping sites 1,483,310 1,360,804 1,245,820 -8.4% Total 10,040,338 10,508,109 10,778,899 +2.6% Source: HCSO final data

The dynamic increase of incoming tourism recorded in 2005 in higher category i.e. four and five star hotels indicates a shift in demand for higher quality services. Four and five star facilities represented altogether 45.1% of the total number of foreign guest nights.

Incoming tourism shows strong seasonality which is underpinned by the fact that commercial accommodations realized close to forty percent of all foreign guest nights between June and August. The share of May and September is around 10% each, and as a result,

Figure 5 Monthly Breakdown of International Guest Nights at Commercial Accommodation 2005 (000s)

1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200

July

May

April

June

March

August

October

January

February

December November Country total Lake Balaton Budapest September Source: HCSO final data

Tourism in Hungary 2005 11 more than sixty percent of all incoming tourism fell on the period between May and September. Lakeside holidays make the summer season even more important at the Lake Balaton: sixty percent of the foreign guest nights are spent between June and August. On the contrary, the share of the summer months is hardly above 30% in case of the very popular Budapest city breaks (Figure 5).

The three most popular regions of the country recorded close to 85% of the guest nights spent by foreigners at commercial accommodations in 2005 (Figure 6): Budapest and the Central Danube Region (53.9%), the Lake Balaton (22.1%) and Western Transdanubia (8.6%).

Figure 6 Incoming Tourism by Tourist Region

(share 2005; change 2005/2004) and Figures Facts

Western Transdanubia 8.6%; +0.5% Central Transdanubia 2.9%; +17.5% Lake Tisza 0.7%; -12.2% Lake Balaton Northern Hungary 2.1%; +4.0% 22.1%; -6.3% Northern Great Plain 5.1%; +4.7% Southern Transdanubia 2.4%; -5.0% Southern Great Plain 2.3%; -3.7%

Budapest and Central Danube 53.9%; +7.0%

Source: HCSO final data

This came as a clear indication of the territorial concentration of incoming tourism. Besides the capital, Central Transdanubia, Northern Great Plain and Northern Hungary recorded an increase in the number of foreign guest nights. The largest decline, which was mostly due to the unpleasant summer weather, was registered at Lake Balaton and Lake Tisza.

Table 7 Main Source Markets by Tourist Region, 2005 (Share of International Guest Nights)

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 1–5 together Country % Country % Country % Country % Country % (%) Budapest and Germany 14.2 United Kingdom 12.8 Italy 8.5 USA 7.9 Spain 5.7 49.1 Central Danube of which: Budapest Germany 14.0 United Kingdom 13.2 Italy 8.5 USA 8.1 Spain 5.9 49.7 Central Transdanubia Germany 38.1 Netherlands 13.4 Austria 6.9 Japan 5.9 Romania 4.5 68.8 Lake Balaton Germany 59.1 Austria 10.8 Denmark 7.1 Netherlands 6.8 Russia 2.2 86.0 Lake Tisza Germany 31.3 Poland 13.4 Romania 9.3 Netherlands 7.6 Slovakia 7.0 68.6 Northern Great Plain Germany 46.4 Poland 13.0 Romania 5.2 Ukraine 3.5 Austria 3.3 71.4 Northern Hungary Germany 22.9 Poland 13.1 Romania 5.8 Slovakia 5.3 Czech Republic 5.1 52.2 Southern Serbia and Germany 33.8 Romania 9.2 Italy 5.6 Netherlands 5.5 4.9 59.0 Great Plain Montenegro Southern Transdanubia Germany 53.4 Austria 6.9 Czech Republic 6.4 Italy 3.8 Netherlands 3.1 73.6 Western Transdanubia Germany 45.3 Austria 25.0 Switzerland 4.7 Czech Republic 3.8 Romania 2.7 81.5 Country total Germany 30.8 United Kingdom 7.6 Austria 6,6 Italy 5.5 USA 4.7 55.2

Source: HCSO final data

Tourism in Hungary 2005 12 Among foreign visitors the most popular cities, besides Budapest, are Table 8 the ones near the Lake Balaton and the ones with spa facilities. The Most Popular Cities among commercial accommodations of Hévíz, Siófok, Bük, Balatonfüred, International Tourists, 2005 Hajdúszoboszló, Zalakaros, Gyõr, Keszthely and Tihany recorded at Guest Nights least 100-100 thousand foreign guest nights in 2005 (Table 8). 1 Budapest 5,599,047 2 Hévíz 629,654 Domestic Tourism 3 Siófok 368,522 4 Bük 350,578 Domestic tourism showed an even more dynamic increase than 5 Balatonfüred 343,877 incoming tourism in 2005: the number of guests was up by 8.1% and 6 Hajdúszoboszló 285,103 the number of guest nights rose by 6.8%. A total of 3.6 million domes- 7 Zalakaros 137,348 tic guests spent altogether 9.0 million guest nights at commercial 8 Gyõr 116,670 accommodations in 2005, which is a record for the past fifteen years. 9 Keszthely 105,074

10 Tihany 101,698 and Figures Facts Table 9 Source: HCSO final data Domestic Tourism by Type of Accommodation, 2003-2005

Arrivals 2003 2004 2005 2005/2004 Hotels 1,717,037 1,826,070 2,107,233 +15.4% 5 star 34,354 42,672 58,877 +38.0% 4 star 384,169 505,078 653,474 +29.4% 3 star 838,798 905,638 1,047,380 +15.7% 2 star 351,607 283,611 259,803 -8.4% 1 star 108 109 89,071 87,699 -1.5% Spa hotels 249,901 336,478 380,158 +13.0% Wellness hotels n.a. 115,967 230,728 +99.0% Guesthouses 663,133 626,163 671,266 +7.2% Tourist hostels 342 664 306,964 286,288 -6.7% Youth hostels 208,635 209,357 193,413 -7.6% Bungalows 259,976 235,417 234,497 -0.4% Camping sites 175,825 142,604 124,948 -12.4% Total 3,367,270 3,346,575 3,617,645 +8.1%

Guest Nights 2003 2004 2005 2005/2004 Hotels 4,352,740 4,532,337 5,134,097 +13.3% 5 star 64,923 90,213 119,543 +32.5% 4 star 825,166 1,075,108 1,357,431 +26.3% 3 star 2,075,255 2,253,588 2,660,481 +18.1% 2 star 1,001,580 755,045 678,429 -10.1% 1 star 385,816 358,383 318,213 -11.2% Spa hotels 771,637 1,010,913 1,147,788 +13.5% Wellness hotels n.a. 241,277 490,300 +103.2% Guesthouses 1,470,824 1,401,084 1,488,285 +6.2% Tourist hostels 875,714 788,788 749,506 -5.0% Youth hostels 613,536 590,592 532,170 -9.9% Bungalows 783,166 685,337 709,620 +3.5% Camping sites 474,796 393,236 344,781 -12.3% Total 8,570,776 8,391,374 8,958,459 +6.8% Source: HCSO final data

Six out of ten domestic guests stayed at hotels. The number of domestic guest nights rose by 32.5% in five star hotels and by

Tourism in Hungary 2005 13 26.3% in four star hotels. In wellness hotels the number of guest For more information about nights doubled and spa hotels also claimed an above average rise domestic and outgoing tourism, in the number of guest nights (+13.5%). In 2005, the overall num- see chapter ‘The Travelling Habits ber of domestic guest nights in hotels rose by 13.3% (at a much of the Hungarian Population’. higher rate than the number of foreign guest nights). From among other commercial accommodation, guesthouses and bungalows recorded the increase of guest nights (Table 9).

The dynamic increase in arrivals and guest nights recorded in 2005 in higher category i.e. five, four and three star hotels indicates a shift in demand for higher quality services. Five, four and three star facilities represented altogether almost half (46.2%) of the total number of domestic guest nights at commercial accommodation facilities. Facts and Figures Facts The seasonality of domestic tourism is stronger than that of international tourism. This is indicated by the fact that 45% of the domestic guest nights is recorded between June to August. The share of the May to September period is 61%. Like in case of incoming tourism, thanks to significance of lakeside tourism, the summer season is especially important at the Lake Balaton: six tenth of the domestic guest nights are realized between June and August. On the contrary, the share of the summer months comes to 29% in case of Budapest (Figure 7).

Figure 7 Monthly Breakdown of Domestic Guest Nights at Commercial Accommodation 2005 (000s) 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200

July

May

April

June

March

August

October

January

February

December November Country total Lake Balaton Budapest Septemb

Source: HCSO final data

The three most important regions of domestic tourism claimed more than half of the total number of guest nights in 2005: the Lake Balaton registered 23.2% of the guest nights, the Budapest and Central Danube Region had a share of 14.8% and Northern Hun- gary 13.1% (Figure 8).

Seven of the nine tourist regions recorded an increase in domestic tourism: the number of guest nights was up one fifth in Central Transdanubia. The Lake Balaton and the Southern Great Plain region

Tourism in Hungary 2005 14 had an increase of more than 10 percent, while the number of Table 10 guest nights rose by 4.7% in the Budapest and Central Danube Most Popular Cities among Domestic Region, by 2.6-2.8% in Northern Hungary, in Northern Great Plain Tourists, 2005 and in Western Transdanubia. Guest Nights 1 Budapest 873,589 Figure 8 2 Hajdúszoboszló 404,832 Domestic Guest Nights by Tourist Region (share 2005; change 2005/2004) 3 Siófok 307,019 4 Hévíz 284,983 5 Sopron 284,652 Western Lake Tisza Lake Balaton Transdanubia 2.1%; -2.5% 6 Debrecen 210,667 12.2%; +2.6% 23.2%; +13.5% Central Transdanubia 7 Eger 209,741 6.6%; +21.7% 8 Szeged 206,313 9 Pécs 200,049

Northern Hungary 10 Zalakaros 186,118 and Figures Facts 13.1%; +2.8% Source: HCSO final data Budapest and Central Danube Northern 14.8%; +4.7% Southern Southern Great Plain Great Plain 11.2%; +2.7% Transdanubia 7.3%; -1.5% 9.5%; +10.8%

Source: HCSO final data

Based on the number of guest nights at commercial accommodations, the towns of Hajdúszoboszló, Siófok, Hévíz, Sopron, Debrecen, Eger, Szeged, Pécs and Zalakaros proved to be the most popular besides Budapest. Tourism in Sopron, Eger, Szeged, Pécs and Deb- recen was dominated by domestic travellers (Table 10).

Figure 9 Outgoing Tourism Bed Capacity by Type of Accommodation, 2005 (%) Data of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office show that the number of Hungarians travelling abroad reached 18.6 million in 2005, which represents an increase of 6.1%. More than ninety percent of the total number of Hungarians departing travelled by road, 6% chose air travel and 3% opted for the train. Thanks to the expansion of capacity in air services and the reduction of air fares, the number of air passengers was up by one fifth.

Arrivals and Guest Nights at Commercial and Private Accommodation

A total of 3600 units of commercial accommodations had been registered by July 31, 2005, of which 3117 were in operation. 5 star hotels 2.4 Commercial accommodation facilities offered 85,446 rooms with 4 star hotels 9.2 329,290 beds in 2005, and the latter showed an overall decrease 3 star hotels 16.2 of 2.1% (Table 11). 2 star hotels 5.4 1 star hotels 2.0 Four star hotels claimed most of the rise by expanding their capacity Guesthouses 14.1 at 12.7%. More than one third of the beds was offered in hotels, and Tourist hostels 8.8 the vast majority in three star establishments, one tenth of the Youth hostels 6.2 capacity was offered by four star hotels. Camping sites claimed one Bungalows 7.1 third of the capacity, guesthouses (14%) and tourist hostels (9%) also Camping sites 28.6 offered significant capacity (Figure 9). Source: HCSO final data

Tourism in Hungary 2005 15 Table 11 Capacity of Commercial Accommodation, 31 July, 2005 Units Rooms Beds 2003 2004 2005 2005/2004 2003 2004 2005 2005/2004 2003 2004 2005 2005/2004 Hotels 822 824 836 +1.5% 46,252 47,611 48,694 +2.3% 109,726 112,769 115,895 +2.8% 5 star 14 16 17 +6.3% 3,275 3,709 3,672 -1.0% 6,859 7,834 7,822 -0.2% 4 star 89 105 121 +15.2% 10,653 12,112 13,474 +11.2% 23,552 26,778 30,184 +12.7% 3 star 414 428 440 +2.8% 21,449 21,977 22,361 +1.7% 50,263 51,835 53,477 +3.2% 2 star 224 200 192 -4.0% 8,127 7,179 6,709 -6.5% 21,579 18,962 17,749 -6.4% 1 star 81 75 66 -12.0% 2,748 2,634 2,478 -5.9% 7,473 7,360 6,663 -9.5% Spa hotels 48 56 62 +10.7% 5,819 6,774 7,247 +7.0% 12,502 14,868 16,183 +8.8% Wellness hotels n.a. 15 31 +106.7% n.a. 1,080 2,284 +111.5% n.a. 2,634 5,622 +113.4% Guesthouses 1,439 1,128 1,225 +8.6% 17,839 16,652 17,372 +4.3% 48,908 45,201 46,340 +2.5% Tourist hostels 315 264 242 -8.3% 8,591 8,410 7,116 -15.4% 35,859 34,827 28,874 -17.1% Facts and Figures Facts Youth hostels 128 133 140 +5.3% 5,519 5,356 5,129 -4.2% 21,523 21,890 20,525 -6.2% Bungalows 480 369 401 +8.7% 7,264 6,895 7,135 +3.5% 24,645 22,862 23,520 +2.9% Camping sites 333 283 273 -3.5% – – – – 106,616 98,945 94,136 -4.9% Total 3,517 3,001 3,117 +3.9% 85,465 84,924 85,446 +0.6% 347,277 336,494 329,290 -2.1% Source: HCSO final data

Commercial accommodation facilities reached a record for the past fifteen years in 2005: the number of domestic and international guest nights together exceeded the 19 million mark for the first time. The number of guests rose by 6.8% and the number of guest nights increased by a more modest rate (+4.4%). Figure 10 Bed Capacity With the exception of August, in every month both the number of by Tourist Region, 2005 (%) arrivals and the number of guest nights at commercial accommodation increased.

Average length of stay came to 2.8 nights in 2005: with foreign guests spending 3.1 nights and domestic guests staying for 2.5 nights on average.

Table 12 Arrivals by Type of Accommodation 2003-2005

2003 2004 2005 2005/2004 Hotels 4,091,711 4,570,856 5,018,007 +9.8% 5 star 366,083 475,108 571,770 +20.3% Lake Balaton 28.5 4 star 1,271,939 1,619,120 1,853,173 +14.5% Budapest and Central Danube 15.9 3 star 1,804,450 1,930,423 2,094,692 +8.5% Western Transdanubia 11.4 2 star 506,634 425,004 383,171 -9.8% Northern Hungary 10.0 1 star 142,605 121,201 115,201 -5.0% Southern Great Plain 8.5 Spa hotels 533,042 654,767 726,851 +11.0% Northern Great Plain 8.7 Wellness hotels n.a. 155,396 282,989 +82.1% Southern Transdanubia 6.8 Guesthouses 887,320 832,307 900,740 +8.2% Central Transdanubia 6.8 Tourist hostels 369,737 330,440 309,408 -6.4% Lake Tisza 3.3 Youth hostels 240,552 244,467 240,126 -1.8% Source: HCSO final data Bungalows 313,430 279,819 272,442 -2.6% Camping sites 412,744 358,554 323,284 -9.8% Total 6,315,494 6,616,443 7,064,007 +6.8% Source: HCSO final data

Tourism in Hungary 2005 16 An analysis shows outstanding results for hotels and especially those of higher category, as hotels claimed more than two thirds (13.6 million) of all the guest nights. The number of guest nights in hotels were up by 7.6% (or +800 guest nights), including a double digit rise of 13.7% and 14.2 in five-star and four-star facilities, respectively. Spa hotels recorded an increase of 9.0%, and wellness hotels registered a growth of 69,9% in the number of guest nights (Table 12 and 13).

Table 13 Guest Nights by Type of Accommodation 2003–2005

2003 2004 2005 2005/2004 Hotels 11,698,560 12,638,477 13,598,733 +7.6% Facts and Figures Facts 5 star 953,283 1,212,577 1,379,101 +13.7% 4 star 3,574,500 4,342,494 4,961,139 +14.2% 3 star 5,179,993 5,470,902 5,821,901 +6.4% 2 star 1,496,766 1,163,844 1,026,480 -11.8% 1 star 494,018 448,660 410,112 -8.6% Spa hotels 2,136,257 2,496,996 2,721,004 +9.0% Wellness hotels n.a. 412,851 701,607 +69.9% Guesthouses 2,171,370 2,023,626 2,150,171 +6.3% Tourist hostels 952,832 857,605 818,591 -4.5% Youth hostels 743,215 702,384 682,314 -2.9% Bungalows 1,087,031 923,351 896,948 -2.9% Camping sites 1,958,106 1,754,040 1,590,601 -9.3% Total 18,611,114 18,899,483 19,737,358 +4.4% Source: HCSO final data

Close to one third of the arrivals and over forty percent of all the guest nights at commercial accommodation fell on the period between June and August showing a strong seasonality. The share of May and September from guest nights is around 10%, each (Figure 11).

Figure 11 Monthly Breakdown of Guest Nights, 2005 (000s)

3500

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

July

May

April

June

March

August

October

January

February

December November Country total Lake Balaton Budapest September Source: HCSO final data

Tourism in Hungary 2005 17 The Budapest and Central Danube Region claimed four out of ten guest nights spent at commercial accommodations in 2005, followed by the Lake Balaton (22.6%) and the region of Western Transdanubia (10.2%). 2005 was the first year when the number of guest nights in Budapest and its surrounding area exceeded 7 million (Table 14).

Table 14 Arrivals and Guest Nights by Tourist Region, 2003-2005 Arrivals 2003 2004 2005 2005 2005/2004 Budapest and 2,260,493 2,646,567 2,868,528 41.0% +7.5% Central Danube Central Transdanubia 278,086 274,838 302,524 4.3% +7.5% Lake Balaton 1,056,600 1,024,495 1,124,970 15.8% +7.3%

Lake Tisza 105,590 95,350 89,565 1.2% -11.8% and Figures Facts Northern Great Plain 492,390 471,323 496,530 6.7% -1.0% Northern Hungary 609,531 595,469 612,148 8.7% +1.7% Southern Great Plain 441,249 429,548 455,789 6.6% +5.9% Southern 392,529 372,693 368,114 5.2% -2.7% Transdanubia Western 679,026 706,160 745,839 10.4% +2.1% Transdanubia Total 6,315,494 6,616,443 7,064,007 100.0% +4.8%

Guest Nights 2003 2004 2005 2005 2005/2004 Budapest and 5,795,539 6,694,875 4,456,117 36.1% +6.6% Central Danube Central Transdanubia 803,862 756,188 7,134,912 4.6% +20.2% Lake Balaton 4,715,624 4,369,311 1,101,552 22.6% +2.0% Lake Tisza 318,639 281,243 906,981 1.3% -5.5% Northern Great Plain 1,554,364 1,502,160 1,553,238 7.9% +3.4% Northern Hungary 1,419,177 1,356,516 1,396,804 7.1% +3.0% Southern Great Plain 1,048,566 1,027,630 909,071 5.6% +7.2% Southern 1,004,373 930,418 2,012,781 4.6% -2.5% Transdanubia Western 1,950,970 1,981,142 265,902 10.2% +1.6% Transdanubia Total 18,611,114 18,899,483 19,737,358 100.0% +4.4% Source: HCSO final data Figure 12 Occupancy Rates of Commercial The average occupancy rate of commercial accommodations Accommodations, 2005 (%) reached 39.3%, and in hotels 48.1% in 2005. There was a straight 50 48.1 line relationship between the occupancy and the category of a ho- 40 Average, 39.3% tel. Five star hotels scored the highest occupancy (65.4%) and 30 26.0 26.3 tourist hostels the lowest at 17.4%. The occupancy of camping sites 22.6 came to 10% (Figure 12 and Table 15). 20 17.4 10 10.1 The total room revenue at commercial accommodation reached al- 0 most HUF 114.0 billion in 2005, which corresponds to an increase

of 14.9%. Two thirds of those receipts came from foreign guests. The Hotels

volume of receipts from domestic guests expanded at a substantial- Bungalows Guesthouses Youth hostels Youth Camping sites* Camping ly faster rate (28.6%) than those of foreign tourists (9.0%). Besides Tourist hostels room revenues, commercial accommodation facilities had an Source: HCSO final data income of HUF 54.4 billion from catering services and HUF 48.8 billion from other services in 2005. Altogether, commercial accommo- * Occupancy rates of tent places.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 18 dations generated a total income of HUF 217 billion, representing a nominal increase of 14.1%. The consumer price index of the sector was 5.8%. Table 15 Occupancy Rates at Commercial Accommodation by Tourist Region, 2005 Hotels Guesthouses Tourist Hostels Youth Hostels Bungalows Camping sites* Total 2005 2005/2004 2005 2005/2004 2005 2005/2004 2005 2005/2004 2005 2005/2004 2005 2005/2004 2005 2005/2004 Budapest and Central 61.2% +6.2% 28.9% +5.7% 33.7% +24.7% 40.6% +9.4% 21.0% +18.1% 4.1% -12.1% 57.0% +6.4% Danube from which: 63.6% +7.3% 35.3% +10.7% 39.9% +27.7% 40.2% +6.8% 7.7% +33.0% 4.5% +34.9% 61.4% +7.5% Budapest Central Transdanubia 34.2% +12.8% 26.3% +20.1% 28.2% +37.6% 20.3% +29.4% 19.1% +1.2% 7.9% -9.3% 29.5% +16.8% Lake Balaton 42.5% -1.2% 23.2% -4.4% 28.0% -30.2% 35.7% +0.8% 31.6% +0.2% 15.4% -8.8% 39.4% -1.5%

Lake Tisza 28.4% -11.4% 25.5% -2.8% 10.1% +5.3% 29.8% +13.1% 28.3% +7.7% 7.3% -12.7% 26.4% -4.5% and Figures Facts Northern Great Plain 45.4% +3.0% 21.9% -5.1% 10.7% -10.3% 20.0% -12.9% 25.1% +7.4% 13.0% -4.4% 35.0% +0.9% Northern 32.5% +2.9% 19.3% -2.2% 20.7% +8.0% 17.1% -1.0% 21.3% +1.0% 5.3% -19.4% 25.0% +2.9% Hungary Southern Great Plain 35.8% +11.2% 23.0% +0.2% 11.1% -2.8% 13.3% +5.4% 25.7% -8.1% 9.4% -1.3% 26.7% +3.5% Southern 31.6% -0.7% 22.7% -10.2% 32.2% -0.8% 24.3% +8.0% 26.8% +11.3% 7.3% +7.0% 27.6% -2.4% Transdanubia Western 44.2% +3.6% 18.8% -0.6% 12.7% +4.6% 17.8% -26.9% 27.3% -12.1% 6.7% +5.0% 31.6% +3.5% Transdanubia Country total 48.1% +3.7% 22.6% -0.4% 17.4% +0.5% 26.0% +4.4% 26.3% +1.1% 10.1% -4.7% 39.3% +3.2% * Occupancy rates of tent places. Source: HCSO final data

Hotels realized 86.3% (HUF 98.5 billion) of total room revenue, 80.9% (HUF 44.0 billion) of the income from catering and 94.7% (HUF 46.2 billion) of other services’ revenue (Table 16).

Two regions, Budapest and Central Danube and Lake Balaton ranked highest in terms of income. Of the overall revenues from accommodation, the Budapest and Central Danube Region made 58.5%, Lake

Table 16 Revenues of Commercial Accommodation, 2005 Accommodation Accommodation Accommodation Other Services including Total Food & Bevarage (domestic guests) (international guests) Total Breakfast Revenues HUF million 2005/2004 HUF million 2005/2004 HUF million 2005/2004 HUF million 2005/2004 HUF million 2005/2004 HUF million 2005/2004 Hotels 29,043 +37.5% 69,426 +9.5% 98,470 +16.5% 44,041 +4.3% 46,208 +23.5% 188,718 +14.9% 5 star 4,503 +157.6% 23,944 +10.6% 28,447 +21.6% 10,719 -1.0% 11,214 +64.4% 50,379 +22.7% 4 star 10,222 +41.5% 29,195 +12.7% 39,417 +19.0% 18,360 +13.3% 22,174 +22.8% 79,951 +18.7% 3 star 11,448 +26.3% 14,772 +2.8% 26,220 +11.9% 12,878 +0.6% 11,725 +3.6% 50,823 +6.9% 2 star 2,213 -8.6% 1,284 -2.7% 3,497 -6.5% 1,960 -11.3% 992 -9.8% 6,449 -8.5% 1 star 657 -2.5% 232 +19.9% 889 +2.5% 125 -35.2% 103 -22.6% 1,116 -6.4% Spa hotels 5,484 +30.5% 10,987 +9.7% 16,472 +15.8% 9,623 +11.7% 13,460 +18.2% 39,555 +15.6% Wellness hotels 3,145 +125.9% 1,384 +46.4% 4,529 +93.8% 3,054 +45.4% 3,873 +53.3% 11,456 +64.5% Guesthouses 5,301 +12.1% 3,171 +12.9% 8,472 +12.4% 9,519 +13.9% 1,567 +21.0% 19,558 +13.8% Tourist hostels 1,128 +0.1% 125 -1.9% 1,253 -0.1% 186 -28.4% 74 +1.2% 1,513 -4.7% Youth hostels 766 -12.4% 496 +46.7% 1,262 +4.1% 63 -10.6% 262 +17.9% 1,587 +5.4% Bungalows 1,578 +9.6% 633 -18.9% 2,211 -0.4% 554 +25.5% 288 -19.3% 3,053 +1.2% Camping sites 442 -4.0% 1,911 -4.4% 2,353 -4.3% 68 +15.8% 392 -5.6% 2,813 -4.1% Total 38,258 +28.6% 75,763 +9.0% 114,021 +14.9% 54,430 +5.9% 48,792 +22.6% 217,243 +14.1% Source: HCSO final data

Tourism in Hungary 2005 19 Balaton generated 14.1% and Western Transdanubia claimed 7.9% Figure 13 (Figure 13). Room revenues from foreign guests showed a high territo- Revenues of Commercial rial concentration as Budapest and the Central Danube Region record- Accommodation by Tourist Region ed almost three quarters of all receipts followed by the Lake Balaton 2005 (%) and Western Transdanubia generating 11.2 and 5.9%, respectively.

The territorial concentration of the revenues from domestic guests is smaller as only 28.6% of the receipts were collected in Budapest and the Central Danube Region, one fifth was generated around the Lake Balaton and one tenth arose in the regions of Western Transdanubia and Northern Hungary, each.

Average hotel rack rate exceeded HUF 13,100 in December 2005, which represents an increase of 11.6% over the same period in 2004.

During 2005, room rates peaked at over HUF 14,400 in May. In the and Figures Facts hotel sector, five-star hotels charged between HUF 25,400 and HUF 37,500 for a room on average, the average room rate in four-star facilities reached between HUF 10,400 and HUF 15,800, while the Lake Balaton 14.1 three-star hotels’ room rates were HUF 6,500 to HUF 8,600 (Table 17). Budapest and Central Danube 58.5 Southern Great Plain 3.4 Besides commercial accommodation, 239,911 bedplaces at 42,881 Southern Transdanubia 2.9 private accommodation were available in 2005. Two thirds (65.3%) of Northern Great Plain 4.7 the bedplaces was found at the Lake Balaton, 6.9% of the capacity Northern Hungary 4.6 was registered in Southern Transdanubia, and 6.3% in Northern Hun- Central Transdanubia 3.3 gary. 667 thousand guest spent altogether 2.9 million nights at private Western Transdanubia 7.9 accommodation. Arrivals decreased by 1.9%, meanwhile guest nights Lake Tisza 0.6 were down by 4.7% compared with 2004. Source: HCSO final data

Table 17 Average Room Rate* in Hotels, 2003-2005 Hotels 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star Total HUF 2005/2004 February 2003 28,399 10,363 6,508 5,628 4,370 10,112 +0.5% 2004 27,220 11,660 6,712 6,504 3,851 10,975 +8.5% 2005 28,107 11,959 7,242 6,737 4,706 12,075 +10.0% May 2003 30,597 13,979 7,268 5,610 4,686 11,377 -1.4% 2004 31,231 14,811 8,084 6,776 4,692 12,965 +13.9% 2005 37,529 15,789 8,463 6,916 5,207 14,434 +11.3% July 2003 25,432 12,865 7,778 6,373 5,595 10,392 +7.0% 2004 27,774 11,991 7,628 6,685 5,090 10,482 +0,8% 2005 33,815 13,591 8,381 6,827 5,316 12,151 +15.9% December 2003 26,297 12,561 7,669 5,868 5,255 11,418 +8.0% 2004 26,910 11,826 7,870 6,344 4,551 11,743 +2.8% 2005 28,737 13,672 8,569 7,093 4,052 13,105 +11.6% *Revenue per occupied room in hotels, independently of type of room. Source: HCSO final data

Rural room service providers registered 153 thousands arrivals and 568 thousands guest nights. At private room service 514 thousands guests spent 2.4 million nights. Contrast with the decrease registered at private rooms, rural accommodation was used by 17.5% more guests in 2005, and the number of guest nights increased by 14.6%. Countrywide, more than half (51.8%) of the nights at private accommodation were generated by domestic guests.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 20 With the exception of the Lake Balaton, in all regions the domestic Figure 14 tourism was dominant. The share of domestic guest nights was the Bed Capacity of Private highest in the Southern Great Plain (87.7%) and in Northern Hungary Accommodation, 31 July 2005 (%) (84.9%). At the Lake Balaton, 33.2 % of the guest nights was generated by domestic guests which is the lowest share among the tourist regions.

High territorial concentration of inbound tourism is outlined by the fact that two thirds (65%) of foreign guest nights was registered at the Lake Balaton. Western Transdanubia was characterized by the share of 8.9%. The high territorial concentration of inbound tourism is outlined by the fact that two thirds of the foreign guest nights was recorded at the Lake Balaton. Western Transdanubia had a share of 9.8%. Facts and Figures Facts Based on the number of the arrivals, the importance of the Lake Bala- ton can be seen, as well: 61 in 100 guests chose the region. Further Lake Balaton 65.3 important shares were registered in Western Transdanubia (8.7%), in Budapest and Central Danube 3.0 the Budapest and the Central Danube Region (8.6%) and in Northern Southern Great Plain 2.4 Great Plain (8.2%). Southern Transdanubia 6.9 Northern Great Plain 5.9 The number of international arrivals increased dinamically at Lake Ti- Northern Hungary 6.3 sza (+61.3%), in the Southern Great Plain (+36.6%) and in the Buda- Central Transdanubia 2.8 pest and the Central Danube Region (+22.3%). The increase of the Western Transdanubia 5.2 guest nights was the highest at Lake Tisza (+40.0%) and in the Buda- Lake Tisza 2.1 pest and the Central Danube Region (+22.9%). Source: HCSO final data

The 211 thousands drop in guest nights was mainly caused by the Lake Balaton (-173 thousands nights) and Southern Transdanubia (-28 thousands nights).

Domestic tourism was characterized by less territorial concentration than inbound tourism: 30% of the domestic guest nights was registered at the Lake Balaton in 2005. Among the most popular destinations, besides the Lake Balaton, Northern Hungary (14.0% of domestic guests nights), Northern Great Plain (10.9%) and Western Transdanubia (10.5%) should be outlined.

With the exeption of Central Transdanubia, Southern Transdanubia and the Lake Tisza, all regions registered an increase int he number of domestic arrivals. The most dinamic - over 10% - increase can be seen in the Budapest and the Central Danube Region (+20.6%), in Northern Great Plain (+15.6%), at the Lake Balaton (+14.4%) and Northern Hungary (+13.7%).

The number of domestic guest nights increased by 22.6% in the Northern Great Plain, by 20.6% in the Budapest and the Central Danube Region,and by 11.3% at the Lake Balaton. The more than 10 thousands drop in the number of guest nights registered in three regions was compensated by other regions. This resulted altogether 66 thousands more domestic guest nights at private accommodation in 2005. This was resulted mainly by the Lake Balaton (+47 thousands nights), by the Northern Great Plain (+38 thousands) and the Budapest and the Central Danube Region (+24 thousands).

Tourism in Hungary 2005 21 Table 18 Arrivals and Guest Nights at Private Accommodation, 2005

International Domestic Total International Domestic Total International Domestic Total International Domestic Total Arrivals Guest Nights Arrivals Guest Nights Number 2005/2004 Private Room Service Budapest and the 21,311 22,327 43,638 86,365 107,208 193,573 +21.6% +6.0% +13.1% +27.1% +19.1% +22.6% Central Danube Region from which: Budapest 16,982 7,964 24,946 68,689 49,140 117,829 +17.6% +16.6% +17.3% +24.5% +25.1% +24.7% Central Transdanubia 3,143 18,105 21,248 16,962 54,532 71,494 -45.3% -4.7% -14.1% -44.8% -12.6% -23.3% Lake Balaton 163,656 115,790 279,446 897,929 432,694 1,330,623 -20.6% +14.7% -9.0% -16.0% +11.8% -8.6% Lake Tisza 1,336 3,473 4,809 4,955 25,595 30,550 -2.1% +35.6% +22.5% -6.7% +102.0% +69.9% Northern Great Plain 21,985 36,393 58,378 83,481 178,993 262,474 -9.0% +13.1% +3.6% -14.8% +20.8% +6.6%

Northern Hungary 4,752 18,274 23,026 19,005 62,634 81,639 -12.8% +12.1% +5.9% -16.6% -0.9% -5.1% and Figures Facts Southern Great Plain 2,960 22,194 25,154 10,075 87,794 97,869 +12.0% +7.3% +7.9% -20.4% -1.1% -3.5% Southern Transdanubia 11,410 17,199 28,609 84,214 74,968 159,182 -17.1% -12.8% -14.6% -25.0% -19.8% -22.6% Western Transdanubia 9,689 20,416 30,105 47,174 106,412 153,586 -48.8% -8.2% -26.9% -56.1% -16.3% -34.5% Total 240,242 274,171 514,413 1,250,160 1,130,830 2,380,990 -18.8% +7.7% -6.5% -18.1% +5.4% -8.4% Rural Room Service Budapest and the 2,507 11,793 14,300 7,525 33,030 40,555 +28.4% +63.1% +55.8% -11.1% +25.7% +16.7% Central Danube Region Central Transdanubia 1,661 8,997 10,658 6,083 33,760 39,843 +18.1% -6.9% -3.7% -10.5% -7.3% -7.8% Lake Balaton 4,208 6,942 11,150 26,226 26,116 52,342 +0.2% +10.1% +6.1% -9.4% +4.3% -3.0% Lake Tisza 3,127 10,299 13,426 21,566 41,060 62,626 +122.4% -37.7% -25.1% +58.2% -39.9% -23.6% Northern Great Plain 611 6,158 6,769 1,831 25,101 26,932 -50.3% +32.9% +15.5% -39.7% +37.1% +26.1% Northern Hungary 5,418 36,420 41,838 10,758 104,090 114,848 +26.0% +14.6% +15.9% +3.2% +6.1% +5.8% Southern Great Plain 1,904 5,045 6,949 4,907 19,236 24,143 +107.4% +2.1% +18.6% +76.1% +15.4% +24.1% Southern Transdanubia 2,300 10,113 12,413 12,874 36,336 49,210 -7.8% +5.0% +2.4% +3.8% -0.7% +0.4% Western Transdanubia 14,422 20,673 35,095 79,529 77,852 157,381 +234.5% +22.1% +65.2% +288.8% +23.7% +88.7% Total 36,158 116,440 152,598 171,299 396,581 567,880 +62.7% +8.2% +17.5% +60.1% +2.0% +14.6% Private Accommodation Total Budapest and the 23,818 34,120 57,938 93,890 140,238 234,128 +22.3% +20.6% +21.3% +22.9% +20.6% +21.5% Central Danube Region from which: Budapest 16,982 7,964 24,946 68,689 49,140 117,829 +17.6% +16.6% +17.3% +24.5% +25.1% +24.7% Central Transdanubia 4,804 27,102 31,906 23,045 88,292 111,337 -32.8% -5.4% -10.9% -38.6% -10.7% -18.4% Lake Balaton 167,864 122,732 290,596 924,155 458,810 1,382,965 -20.2% +14.4% -8.5% -15.8% +11.3% -8.4% Lake Tisza 4,463 13,772 18,235 26,521 66,655 93,176 +61.1% -27.8% -16.6% +40.0% -17.7% -6.7% Northern Great Plain 22,596 42,551 65,147 85,312 204,094 289,406 -11.0% +15.6% +4.8% -15.5% +22.6% +8.2% Northern Hungary 10,170 54,694 64,864 29,763 166,724 196,487 +4.4% +13.7% +12.2% -10.4% +3.4% +1.0% Southern Great Plain 4,864 27,239 32,103 14,982 107,030 122,012 +36.6% +6.3% +10.0% -3.0% +1.6% +1.0% Southern Transdanubia 13,710 27,312 41,022 97,088 111,304 208,392 -15.7% -7.0% -10.1% -22.1% -14.4% -18.2% Western Transdanubia 24,111 41,089 65,200 126,703 184,264 310,967 +3.8% +4.9% +4.5% -0.9% -3.1% -2.2% Total 276,400 390,611 667,011 1,421,459 1,527,411 2,948,870 -13.1% +7.8% -1.9% -12.9% +4.5% -4.7%

Source: HCSO final data

Average length of stay at private accommodation was 4.4 nights in 2005 which surpasses the average length of stay at commercial accommodation. Domestic guests spent 3.9 nights on average at private accommodation, meanwhile the average length of stay of international guests was 5.1 nights.

Private accommodation had a revenue of 676 million HUF of holiday vouchers in 2005. The number of private accommodation accepting holiday voucher was 1010.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 22 * ():ArrivalsandGuestNightsatHotels. (000s) Hungarians Travelling Abroad International Arrivals(000s) Balance (EURmillion) Expenditures (EURmillion) Receipts (EURmillion) Vouchers (HUFmillion) Accommodation from Holiday Revenues ofCommercial Number ofRecipients (HUF million) Value ofHolidayVouchers Average Length ofStay(000s) Guest Nights(000s) Arrivals (000s) Average Length ofStay(000s) Guest Nights(000s) Arrivals (000s) Average Length ofStay(000s) Guest Nights(000s) Arrivals (000s) Total (HUFmillion) Other Revenues (HUFmillion) (HUF million) International AccommodationFee (HUF million) Domestic AccommodationFee Average Length ofStay(nights) Guest Nights(000s) Arrivals (000s) Average Length ofStay(nights) Guest Nights(000s) Arrivals (000s) Average Length ofStay(nights) Guest Nights(000s) Arrivals (000s) T I D T I D n n o o o o t t t t e e m m a a r r l l n n e e

a a s s t t t t i i i i o o c c n n

a a l l

Summary DataofHungarianTourism A r r i A v a r r l i s v

a a R l n s e d

v a

e G n n d u u

e e G s s u t

e o N 2004-2005 s V B f i

t g i a C

s S N h l 18,899 (12,638) o i a o t t 10,508 (8,106) i m n o s g c 6,616 (4,571) 3,270 (2,745) 8,391 (4,532) 3,347 (1,826)

c r h i a m s a e 2 t t

l s

a e 0

o C

T t 2.9 (2.8) 3.2 (3.0) 2.5 (2.5) r 0 a 190,445 291,831 f

c o o

F t 4 91,202 69,486 29,757 17,558 36,635 T i

m u r a 2,302 3,265 5,014 7,465 3,094 1,633 1,462 P o o r l m r i u 680 318 362 962

n Source: HCSO finaldata,NationalBankofHungary s i 4.5 5.1 4.0 A v r t m e i i c a s e r t c c m r e o s i

a m A l

19,737 (13,599) c m A 10,779 (8,465) c c 7,064 (5,018) 3,446 (2,911) 8,958 (5,134) 3,618 (2,107) o o c m d 2 o a 0 m m t 2.8 (2.7) 3.1 (2.9) 2.5 (2.4) i 0 493,025 217,243 103,222 o o m 5 38,258 18,622 38,555 10,200 75,763 n d 1,085 2,347 3,433 7,195 2,949 1,421 1,527 o a d 667 276 391 t 4.4 5.1 3.9 i a o t n i o n +6.8% (+13.3%) +8.1% (+15.4%) * +4,4% (+7,6%) +6,8% (+9,8%) +2.6% (+4.4%) +5.4% (+6.0%) 2 -2,2% (-2,0%) -2.7% (-1.5%) -1.2% (-1.8%) 0 0 5 Table 19 / +28.6% +12.8% +43.5% +68.9% +36.6% +14.1% +13.2% 2 +6.1% +6.9% +2.0% +5.1% +0.1% +4.5% +7.8% +9.0% -12.9% -13.1% 0 -2.2% -4.7% -1.9% -2.5% 0 4 and DomesticTourism, 2005(%) oetcgetngt 45.4 54.6 51.2 48.8 International guest nights Domestic guest nights International guests Domestic guests Share ofInternational Tourism 2005 Source: HCSO finaldata in Hungary in Hungary Figure 15 23

Facts and Figures The Travelling Habits of the Hungarian Population Figure 16 Destinations of Same-day Commissioned by the Hungarian National Tourist Office, M.Á.S.T. Visitors, 2005 (%) Market and Opinion Survey Company in December 2005 carried out a research in about the travelling habits of the Hungarian population. The random sample of 1,000 Hungarians over 18 years of age is representative in terms of county, settlement structure, gender and age. Respondents were interviewed per- sonally in their homes.

The study examined day trips, overnight trips and main holidays6 taken between December 1, 2004 and November 31, 2005.

During the period surveyed 65% of the respondent households

reported a day trip. The frequency of excursions was the highest and Figures Facts among the 18-24 and 30-40 year old respondents, families with chil- Domestic 89 dren, people with second home, with average or above average Foreign 4 income, and people living in cities, and in the statistical regions of Domestic and Foreign 7 Central and Southern Transdanubia. Of the households that reported a day trip, 89% visited domestic destinations only, 7% travelled to both Source: HNTO / M.Á.S.T. domestic and foreign destinations and 4% left for destinations abroad only (Figure 16).

61% of the households surveyed took an overnight trip between De- cember 2004 and November 2005. The frequency of trips was higher among the 18-40 year old respondents, families with children, active (working) people, respondents with second home, and the residents of the statistical regions of Central Hungary and Northern Great Plain. Of the households that reported an overnight trip, 63% visited domestic destinations only, 19% travelled to both domestic and foreign destinations and 18% left for destinations abroad only (Figure 22). Households taking no day nor overnight trips reported first of all financial reasons.

43% of the respondent households, or in other words 71% of the travelling households took a main holiday. The frequency of such trips was higher among women, in the age groups of 30-40 and above 60 year old people, families with children and the residents, people with above average income and second home, and respondents living in the statistical region of Central Hungary, Northern Hungary and Western Transdanubia. 61% of the trips were made to domestic destinations, meanwhile in 39% of the main holiday travellers choose a foreign destination.

DOMESTIC TRIPS 6 Day trip: a one-day trip without an overnight stay, when a member of the household spent less than Day trip features: a day in another settlement, and his/her purpose • 96% of the respondents took a domestic day trip (including 7% that was not work or study. made both domestic and foreign day trips) (Figure 16), one house- Overnight trip: a trip when a member of the hold made an average of 3 day trips; household spent at least one night away from • The most popular destinations were Budapest and the Central his/her place of residence, his/her purpose was Danube Region with Southern Transdanubia and Northern Hungary not work or study, and the period spent away from as runner up (Figure 17); home did not exceed one year. • 45% of the day trips was taken during the summer months of June Main holiday: the major travel of the household in the to August; meanwhile during the winter time households reported given period which involved at least two members of almost no day trips, the household (unless it is a single household).

Tourism in Hungary 2005 24 • Main motivations were visiting friends and relatives (VFR) (24%), lakeside day trip (17%), and shopping (12%); • The most important sources were brochures (38%), the Internet (37%). Information received from friends (36%) also played a significant role (Table 20).

Figure 17 Domestic Day Trips by Tourist Region 2005 (%)

Budapest and Central Danube 17.6 Southern Transdanubia 16.8 Northern Hungary 14.8 Lake Balaton 14.0 Facts and Figures Facts Central Transdanubia 11.2 Southern Great Plain 9.9 Northern Great Plain 9.5 Western Transdanubia 5.0 Lake Tisza 1.0 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0 18.0 20.0 Source: HNTO / M.Á.S.T.

Overnight trip features: • 82% of the respondents took domestic overnight trips (including 19% that made both domestic and foreign overnight trips) (Figure 22), one household made an average of 2.6 overnight trips; • The most popular destinations of overnight trips were Budapest and Lake Balaton, followed by Budapest and the Central Danube region and Northern Hungary (Figure 18); • The majority (41%) of overnight trips fell on the summer months of July and August; but June and September had a significant share, as well (13% and 10%). During winter time households reported al- Table 20 most no domestic overnight trips. Information Sources of Domestic Travellers, 2005 (%) Figure 18 Overnight Main Domestic Overnight Trips by Tourist Region Day trip 2005 (%) trip holiday Information from 36 45 43 Lake Balaton 24.8 friends & relatives Brochures 38 41 44 Budapest and Central Danube 22.1 Internet 37 41 30 Northern Hungary 13.8 Maps 32 41 34 Southern Transdanubia 11.7 Travel books 33 34 27 Local people 14 22 19 Western Transdanubia 7.5 Travel agency - 14 19 Central Transdanubia 7.1 Press 13 9 8 Southern Great Plain 6.0 Television 11 5 4 Northern Great Plain 5.3 Information office 5 5 4 Travel fair 2 4 1 Lake Tisza 1.7 Radio 3 2 - 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 Other 7 13 9 Source: HNTO / M.Á.S.T. Source: HNTO / M.Á.S.T.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 25 • A domestic overnight trip lasted 4.5 nights on average with 63% of Figure 19 all the journeys lasting between 1-3 nights; Domestic Main Holidays • The car was the most frequently (58%) used means of transport, fol- by Tourist Region, 2005 (%) lowed by the train (21% and regular buses (14%), • Two-thirds stayed at unpaid accommodation (staying with friends and realatives, second home or company resort), hotels and paid private accommodation opted for 8% respectively, • Main motivations included visiting friends and relatives (VFR) (37%) and lakeside overnight trips (19%); • The most important information sources were the experiences of former visitors of the destination (45%), the Internet, maps and brochures (41% respectively) and travel books (34%) (Table 20).

Main holiday features:

• 61% of the main holidays were made to domestic destinations and Figures Facts (Figure 24); • The most popular destination was Lake Balaton, followed by North- Lake Balaton 39.6 ern Hungary and the Budapest and the Central Danube Region Northern Hungary 13.5 (Figure 19); Budapest and Central Danube 9.4 • 83% of the respondents had been to the destination of the main hol- Southern Great Plain 8.8 iday previously, and the ratio of return visits was the highest (96%) Southern Transdanubia 7.9 in the case of trips to Central Transdanubia and it was the lowest Western Transdanubia 6.9 (67%) in the case of Western Transdanubia; Central Transdanubia 5.9 • One-third of the respondents that took a main holiday had decided Northern Great Plain 5.1 on the destination two months in advance, few days period was Lake Tisza 3.0 reported by 14% of the respondents; Source: HNTO / M.Á.S.T. • 39% of the main holidays fell on August, 30% was registered in July. One-fifth of the main holidays was taken besides the summer Figure 20 period; Accommodation Used During • 36% of the main holidays took less than 4 nights, 29% lasted a Domestic Main Holidays, 2005 (%) week. The average length of stay was 5.4 nights. • The car (70%) was the most frequently used means of transport, fol- lowd by the train (19%); • In the case of 55% of the main holidays people stayed at unpaid accommodation (with friends/relatives or in second homes) or company resort. Hotels represented 12%, and paid private accommodation had a share of 11% (Figure 20); • The participants organized 84% of the main holidays themselves; • The most important activities during a main holiday included relaxation (75%) and bathing/visiting a spa (54%), following by visiting natural attractions (37%) and city breaks (34%), • The most important information sources were brochures (44%), the experience of former visitors of the destination (43%), maps Private (free of charge) 39.3 (34%) and travel books (27%). 30% used the Internet (Table 20). Hotel 11.5 Private (paid) 11.0 OUTGOING TOURISM Second home 10.2 Guesthouse 7.2 Day trip features: Apartment 6.1 • 11% of the respondents took a day trip to a foreign destination Company resort 5.0 (including 7% that left for both domestic and foreign day trips) Camping site 4.4 (Figure 16), one household made an average of 2 day trips; Tourist hostel 1.6 • The most popular destinations were Austria, followed by Slovakia Youth hostel 1.3 and Romania (Figure 21); Camping sites 0.6 • 15% of the day trips fell on May, 13% was registered in August and Other 1.9 32% in September; Source: HNTO / M.Á.S.T.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 26 • Main motivations were city break (30%), shopping (23%) and visit- Figure 22 ing friends and relatives (VFR) (16%); Destination of Hungarian • The most important information sources were travel books (55%), the Tourists, 2005 (%) experience of former visitors (50%), brochures (43%) and maps (38%). 42% used the Internet (Table 21).

Figure 21 The Most Popular Destinations of Day Trips Abroad 2005 (%) Austria 57.7 Slovakia 15.1 Romania 11.4 Serbia and Montenegro 5.2

Ukraine 4.1 and Figures Facts Czech Republic 1.6 Domestic 63 Germany 1.5 Foreign 18 Croatia 1.3 Domestic and Foreign 19 Italy 0.9 Source: HNTO / M.Á.S.T. Slovenia 0.7 Luxembourg 0.5 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 Source: HNTO / M.Á.S.T.

Overnight trip features: • 37% of the respondents took an overnight trip abroad (including 19% that left for both domestic and foreign overnight trips) (Figure 22), one household made an average of 1.5 overnight trips; • The most popular destination was Austria, followed by Italy and Croatia (Figure 23); • Almost six-tenth of overnight trips fell on the summer months of June to August, including 29% in August;

Figure 23 The Most Popular Destinations of Overnight Trips Abroad 2005 (%) Austria 19.2 Italy 9.4 Croatia 9.0 Romania 6.5 Germany 5.1 Slovakia 4.6 Bulgaria 4.0 Czech Republic 3.7 Greece 3.6 Morocco 3.4 Tunesia 3.3 France 3.2 0 5 10 15 20 Source: HNTO / M.Á.S.T.

• An overnight trip lasted 7 nights on average. 22.8% of all the journeys lasted more than one week; • The car was the most frequently (44%) used, followed by regular buses (24%), air travel (20%, of which 4% low cost flights), and train (6%),

Tourism in Hungary 2005 27 • 18% stayed at unpaid accommodation (staying with friends and rel- Figure 24 atives or second homes), most popular accommodation was hotel Destination of Main Holidays (30%), followed by apartment (18%), 2005 (%) • Main motivations were lakeside holiday (28%), visiting friends and relatives (VFR) (15%), city breaks (14%) and mountain holiday (11%); • The most important information sources included brochures (53%), the Internet (52%), past experience of former visitors (50%), travel books (44%) and maps (40%). Travel agencies had a share of 39% (Table 21).

Main holiday features: • 39% of the main holidays were made to foreign destinations (Figure 24), • The most popular destination was Croatia, followed by Italy, Austria and Bulgaria (Figure 25);

• More than half (56%) of the respondents taking a main holiday abroad and Figures Facts had decided on the destination more than two month in advance; • 36% of the main holidays fell on August, 26% was registered in July, Domestic 61 and one-third was taken besides the summer months; Foreign 39 • One-third of the main holidays took less than a week. The average Source: HNTO / M.Á.S.T. length of stay came to 8.3 nights;

Figure 25 The Most Popular Destinations for Main Holidays Abroad 2005 (%) Croatia 15.3 Italy 13.4 Austria 11.8 Bulgaria 6.2 Greece 5.6 Table 21 Romania 5.0 Information Sources of Hungarians France 4.9 Travelling Abroad, 2005 (%) Morocco 4.6 Overnight Main Day trip Tunesia 4.4 trip holiday Turkey 4.1 Brochures 43 53 55 Other 24.7 Internet 42 52 56 Information from 0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 50 50 48 friends & relatives Source: HNTO / M.Á.S.T.. Travel books 55 44 50 Maps 38 40 45 • The car (43%) was the most frequently used means of transport, fol- Travel agency 21 39 46 lowed by chartered buses (23%) and air travel (23%), of which the Local people 16 21 19 share of low cost flights came to 5%; • 30% stayed at a hotel, apartments were used by 21% of the trips. 16% Information office 14 13 11 of the travellers stayed at non-commercial accommodation facilities Television - 9 6 (staying with friends and relatives, in second homes or at a company Travel fair 10 9 11 resort); Press 7 7 6 • The participants organized 53% of the main holidays themselves, Airlines 3 6 5 travel agencies participated in organizing 37% of the main holidays Embassy 5 5 2 abroad, the share of package tours was about 20%; in Hungary • The most important activities during a main holiday were relaxation Radio - 3 1 (66%), city break (65%), bathing/visiting a spa (58%), and visiting Representative natural (58%) and cultural attractions (58%); - 2 1 in Hungary • The most important information sources were the Internet (56%), brochures (55%), travel books (50%), maps (45%), travel agencies Other 18 5 3 (46%) and the experience of former visitors of the destination (48%). Source: HNTO / M.Á.S.T.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 28 The Organizational Structure of Tourism in Hungary

In many countries of the world tourism is managed by national, regional and local organizations that mutually complement each other. The same is true of Hungary: managing tourism is one of the responsibilities of many organizations ranging from Parliament to local governments.

This chapter describes the organizations with national and regional competence, and their responsibilities in line with the structure effective in August 2006.

Parliament Parliamentary legislation is of prime importance in terms of both the development of tourism and the operation of businesses in the sector. Parliament legislates the acts that provide the framework for the operation of the sector. In Hungary, acts lay the economic foun- dations of tourism, for instance as regards tourism tax, or the support allocated in the central budget to tourism purposes. Some

other legal institutions of importance in tourism, for instance the Committee on Sport and Tourism Organizational Structure system of holiday vouchers (social tourism), are also determined Chairman: by law. Lasztovicza, Jenõ Fidesz Vice-chairmen: Almássy, Kornél MDF Committee on Sport and Tourism Pál, Béla MSZP Members: The Committee on Sport and Tourism is a body responsible for initiat- dr. Bakonyi, Tibor MSZP ing, proposing, and expressing an opinion about legislation and for Becsó, Zsolt FIDESZ controlling the actions of government. dr. Gyenesei István independent Hadházy, Sándor FIDESZ The most important responsibilities of the Committee involve initiating dr. Horváth, Klára MSZP and monitoring tourism related legislation and proposed resolutions Koscsó, Lajos MSZP and asserting the interests of tourism in the legislative process. The Kovács, Ferenc FIDESZ Committee pays attention both to the enforcement and to the social Nagy, Jenõ MSZP impact of the acts in its competence. Nagy, Sándor FIDESZ Páva, Zoltán MSZP Furthermore, the Committee is in charge of supervising and control- Szalay, Ferenc FIDESZ ling the way state institutions responsible for tourism fulfill their duties. Szijjártó, Péter FIDESZ Its role is important, it may discuss any tourism related topic and may dr. Tompa, Sándor MSZP initiate actions to have the necessary measures taken. Tóth, József MSZP dr. Tóth, József MSZP dr. Világosi, Gábor SZDSZ Committee on Sport and Tourism H-1054 Budapest, Széchenyi rakpart 19. Abbreviations: Telephone: +36-1/441-5055 Fidesz: Fidesz Hungarian Civic Union Fax: +36-1/441-5057 MDF: Hungarian Democratic Forum E-mail: [email protected] MSZP: Hungarian Socialist Party Website: www.parlament.hu SZDSZ: Alliance of Free Democrats

Tourism in Hungary 2005 29 Tourism Secretariat of the Ministry Tourism Secretariat of the Ministry of Municipalities and Regional of Municipalities and Regional Development Development dr. Somogyi, Zoltán H-1012 Budapest, Vérmezõ út 4. Appointed on 1 July 2006 by the prime minister, the tourism secretary Telephone: +36-1/225-6506 belongs to the Ministry of Municipalities and Regional Development, Fax: +36-1/225-6509 under direct supervision of the minister. E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.mth.gov.hu The work of the secretary is supported by the Tourism Department. The secretary submits proposals to the minister regarding the development of the short, medium and long term objectives of tourism, elaborates the concept of tourism policy, including the development and marketing concept. It coordinates the fulfilment of the National Tourism Development Strategy in line with the plan- ning period of the European Union. The document, which sets the priorities of developing tourism for the period 2005-2013, was adopted by the Government. The secretary acts as trustee of the Hungarian National Tourist Office. In addition to operating the domestic system of subsidies, he cooperates in the elaboration of the programs designed to support tourism in the European Union. It supervises the acts and regulations related to tourism in order to harmonize the laws, and to strengthen tourism companies' market position. Furthermore, the secretary cooperates with educational institutions and non-governmental organizations. He maintains relations with the European Union and the international tourism

organizations. Organizational Structure The Chairmen of Regional Commit- tees on Tourism Budapest and Central Danube National Tourism Board Regional Committee on Tourism: Rusznák, Imre The National Tourism Board (Országos Idegenforgalmi Bizottság, Central Transdanubia Regional Com- OIB) was established by the Minister of Industry and Trade on Febru- mittee on Tourism: ary 1, 1996. OIB has been acting as a consulting body of the Minister Szabó, Gábor of Municipalities and Regional Development. The members of the Lake Balaton Regional Committee on Board represent major trade organizations of the sector and regional Tourism: tourism committees. Rosta, Sándor Lake Tisza Regional Committee on The Board participates in preparing the decisions on the principles Tourism: of the strategy for developing tourism. It submits proposals to mod- Kerekes, László ernize the system of governance and the structure of organization Northern Great Plain Regional Com- of tourism, to develop the strategy for developing international rela- mittee on Tourism: tions in tourism and to award medals for trade distinction. It Tóth, József expresses an opinion about the directions and principles of the Northern Hungary Regional Commit- tourism appropriation, the objectives and means of tender calls, tee on Tourism: the marketing strategy of the Hungarian National Tourist Office and Nagy, Imre the tourist regions, the proposed principles of the development Southern Great Plain Regional Com- strategy, the economic and legal regulations governing tourism and mittee on Tourism: the conditions created. Tokaji, Ferenc Southern Transdanubia Regional The Board monitors and evaluates the development of domestic Committee on Tourism: and international tourism, the trends in domestic tourism demand, Gonda, Tibor the development of tourism research and the training of tourism Western Transdanubia Regional Com- professionals, the social policy effects of tourism, the development mittee on Tourism: of the international relations of tourism and other topical issues Balogh, Károly related to tourism.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 30 Furthermore the board delegates members, upon request, to the National Tourism Board adjudication boards of tenders invited centrally; maintains Chairman: dr. Wolff, Péter contacts with the trade organizations and with regional tourism Secretary General: dr. Faragó, Hilda committees. H-1012 Budapest, Vérmezõ út 4. Telephone: +36-1/488-8680 Members of the National Tourism Board Fax: +36-1/488-8681 E-mail: [email protected] Voting Members Website: www.oib.gov.hu Chairman of the National Tourism Board President and Vice-president of the Hungarian Tourist Authority Chairman of the Board of the Hungarian National Tourist Office

and the representatives of the following trade organizations: Coordination Council of Tourist Regions Federation of Hungarian Event Organizers Association of Hungarian Travel Agents and Tour Operators Hotel Association of Hungary Hungarian Caterers’ Guild Hungarian Society of Tourism National Federation of Catering and Tourism Employers National Federation of Hungarian Youth Hostels National Federation of Rural and Agricultural Tourism Trade Union of Catering and Tourism

Members with consultative right

Association of Tourist Consultants Organizational Structure Hungarian Baths Association Association of Hungarian Tourist Guides Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Hungarian Ramblers’ Association ‘Friends of Nature’ Hungarian National Gastronomy Association National Federation of Local Governments Organization for Tourism Coordination Hungarian National Tourist Office Tourist Association of Counties Chief Executive Officer: dr. Galla, Gábor Permanent invitees H-1012 Budapest, Vérmezõ út 4. Chief Executive Officer, Hungarian National Tourist Office Telephone: +36-1/488-8700 Head of Division, Service Statistics, Fax: +36-1/488-8600 Hungarian Central Statistical Office E-mail: [email protected] Secretary General, National Tourism Board Website: www.hungary.com

HNTO Board of Directors Chairman: dr. Niklai, Ákos Hungarian National Tourist Office Members: Karácsony, Mihály dr. Kovács, Miklós The Hungarian National Tourist Office (HNTO) is the national mar- Meszter, László keting organization of tourism which has a single shareholder, the dr. Vass, György Ministry of Municipalities and Regional Development. dr. Wolff, Péter The HNTO was set up as a legal successor of the National Tourist HNTO Supervisory Board Office (Országos Idegenforgalmi Hivatal, OIH) on March 1, 1994 Chairman: Rusznák, Imre under the name Hungarian Tourism Service (Magyar Turisztikai Members: Morvainé Lovas, Erzsébet Szolgálat). The name was modified to Hungarian National Tourist Székely, Ferenc Office on January 1, 1996.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 31 The main objective of the Hungarian National Tourist Office is promot- The objectives of HNTO are attained by: ing Hungary's tourist attractions and services and thereby contribut- • building and improving the image ing to the development of domestic and international tourism. Tourism of Hungary, helps to create jobs in the Hungarian economy, contributes to devel- • providing unbiased assistance opment of the GDP and influences favourably the current account of to help Hungarian tourism the balance of payments. companies, • supporting regional cooperation The Hungarian National Tourist Office performs its tasks with reliance in tourism marketing, on its head office and its domestic network, including Regional Mar- • PR and promotion in Hungary keting Directorates and Regional Tourist Project Offices, its foreign and abroad, representations and the Tourinform network, the latter operating in a • providing tourist information. franchise system.

The regional marketing directorates (RMD) operating in the seven Domestic network tourist regions of the country and the two regional tourist project offices (RTPO) play an important role in developing domestic tourism. Regional offices are responsible first of all for strengthening the identity of each region, the convergence of rural Hunga- ry, raising awareness of the countryside and for motivating regional service providers to develop and maintain top quality tourist products. Providing unbiased assistance to service providers to penetrate the market is another priority. To achieve these goals, RMDs and RTPOs maintain relations with the local service providers and regional organizations, participate in product development and in drafting of brochures, represent the region and regional service providers at domestic and international tourist

exhibitions and participate in managing and evaluating tender Organizational Structure applications.

The offices of the Tourinform-network in Hungary are the centres of Tourinform network up-to-date tourist information about the tourism supply of the country, the tourist service providers and current events. The HNTO is also responsible for the professional supervision of the national network, whilst the offices themselves are operated by local governments. In 2005, seven new Tourinform offices were added to the net- Close to 2.6 million persons visited work at various locations across Hungary, bringing the total to 152 the Tourinform offices in 2005. offices by the end of the year. As of January 1, 2005, the office in Sü- The offices of the network received tõ utca and those at Terminals 2A and 2B at Ferihegy Airport are 406 thousand phone calls, and respons- operated by the Budapest Tourism Office. This arrangement result- es were given to 340 thousand ed in a uniform standard of providing information for tourists visiting requests received in writing. the capital.

In 2005 the Hungarian National Tourist Office was operating 22 Foreign network foreign representations in 20 countries, furthermore an information office to provide professional service to the public. The representations are responsible for raising awareness of Hungary as a tourist destination, improving the image of the country in Hun- gary's most important and emerging source markets. To achieve these objectives, representations issue and distribute market- specific brochures, participate in exhibitions and fairs and carry out promotion and PR activities. Their websites offer comprehensive information to the general public wishing to travel to Hungary and to tour operators programming trips to Hungary. The representations maintain close relations with the local media and tourism professionals and organize study tours and press conferences.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 32 National Tourism Development Strategy

Many recognized after the political changes that the development of a market economy in Hungary could create the circumstances for tourism to become an economic driving force in line with international trends. However, a strategy that could set the framework for long- term, comprehensive development of the sector has not yet been approved despite spectacular and effective development projects. The single internal market of the EU, the intensification of competition, which is also at play in tourism, continuous modification of consumer requirements and emerging forms of travel justify a conscious approach to developing tourism towards predetermined goals.

The National Tourism Development Strategy adopted by the government on September 28, 2005 serves as a basis for drafting the 2nd National Development Plan. While developing the National Develop- ment Policy Concept, the National Concept of Regional Development and the National Tourism Development Strategy, the drafters harmo- nized the two documents.

The timeframe of the strategy is the period between 2005-2013, con- sequently it terminates in the same year as the next, 2007-2013 budg- etary cycle of the European Union. Implementation may extend up to 2015 in line with the ‘n+2’ rule7, which governs the implementation of EU development programs.

The sections below summarize the strategy.

An Analysis of the Current Situation The strategy discusses the present status of tourism honestly and with a critical eye and relies in its analysis on both available statistical data and primary sources of research comprising the conclusions drawn from deep interviews conducted with 35 opinion leaders in the travel trade.

Strategic Goals, Means and Time Horizon The strategy is underpinned by a structure of five pillars that cover each segment of the sector of tourism. The comprehensive goals National Tourism Development Strategy National Tourism have been formulated to cover each of the five pillars by addressing the following.

The long term development of tourism requires a quality-oriented People-oriented development approach and fastidiousness in order that high quality, physical with long term benefits and communicational access can replace competing on prices, and so that specific target groups can evaluate the supply of auxiliary services as a major factor of competition among the providers of tourist services. (Access is especially important for people with disabilities, families with small children and the 7 Two years are available for utilization after the elderly.) To create the required motivating force, a nationwide year when a financial commitment is made system of quality assurance and trade marks in tourism, where the (year n).

Tourism in Hungary 2005 33 latter is built upon the former and is recognized and accepted by both travel trade professionals and tourists as a factor to base decisions on. The goals envisage that the sector will represent secu- rity of existence and an attractive perspective for both entrepreneurs and employees; that the profitability of enterprises will improve and that enterprises seeking short term gains will be driven out of the market. More emphasis should be placed on promoting domestic holidays, because the larger domestic tourism is the better the quality of life of Hungarian citizens will become. Simultaneously, additional improvements are needed in the acceptance of and the support for the sector. The impact of tourism on our natural environment must be determined and quantified. Priority must be given to destinations and services that shape their activities while paying conscious attention to the environment. Incentives must be given to the use of raw materials and products made locally.

Hungary may become a better known and more popular tourist desti- The development of attractions nation in the next 8-10 years as a result of developing first of all health tourism, cultural, natural and landscape attractions and congress tourism. The development of tourist products seeks to create complex supply, which may be put to good use in increasing tourism receipts substantially by achieving a simultaneous rise in the number of tourists with high spending propensity, whilst the number of visitors, which is already high, remains unchanged. As regards priority destinations, it is necessary to strengthen the international position of Budapest. The goal concerning the Lake Balaton calls for converting that region into the largest leisure centre in Hungary with multiple seasons in the decade to come. An important goal for each region requires that they strengthen and improve their own image and the profile of services specific to their region. Capital investments must be supported by proper marketing so that Hungary enjoys an attractive image among foreigners.

Several sections of the transport infrastructure require major develop- Improving the tourism ment to ensure faster and more secure access to Hungary. In addition infrastructure to promoting the ease of public road access to tourist attractions, proper background services need to be developed for target groups with special requirements along motorways and rapid access ways, so as to utilize the favorable impacts of transit traffic. Rapid and cultured connections can be created between the target areas of tourism by modernizing the railway network, by removing the barriers to services and by harmonizing timetables. It is important to continue the development of the airport of the capital and to improve its accessi- bility, while new holiday regions can be connected to the flow of National Tourism Development Strategy National Tourism tourism by strengthening regional airports. Several technical developments must be implemented in the water-based transportation systems so as to ensure safe and cultured conditions for receiving tourists, secure border crossing and to give new momentum to aquatic tourism. The reception of tourists requires that the supply of accommodation should match market requirements in composition and quality. It is important to harmonize the territorial distribution of accommodation and catering establishments with the attractions that form the basis of tourism: the supply side of tourism should become complex. The quality of famous Hungarian hospitality should stand up to its reputation: tourists and locals should be served by friendly and reliable catering establishments.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 34 Modernizing the system of training and education and matching it to la- Human resource development bor market demand are required to ensure that the people employed in the sector have proper skills and competencies, so that they can provide professional services and experiences in line with the expectations to the guests they get into contact with. The sector will provide secure livelihood to the employees of the tourism sector if seasonal employment reduces as a result of a shift in the structure of tourism supply. It is also necessary to gradually bleach the black labor market in tourism. Ensuring a favorable economic environment and developing training should be accompanied by a proper approach: the participants of the travel trade and anyone affected by tourism must recognize that they are working to improve the quality of life of both the people of and the visitors to this country. To facilitate this approach, priority should be given to motivating various forms of partnership within tourism.

The government level management of tourism is responsible for the Creating an efficient operating duties associated with priority tourist developments, regulation and system intergovernmental cooperation, and for mobilizing the governmental means available to it to ensure long term stability for the sector. That requires solid conditions within public administration and an efficient system of cooperation with peer government portfolios. At the same time, the division of labor between settlements, micro regions, counties, regions and the state should become unambiguous in tourism. Also the destination management organizations at local, micro regional, regional and governmental level must be set up. The goal calls for allocating financial resources and delegating decision making powers to the level where a particular tourism related job can be solved best and at the highest efficiency. It is necessary to strengthen the capacity of trade Financial Issues organizations to assert their interests as that can contribute to the More than 50% of the funds required development of their cooperation with central and regional govern- for implementing the strategy will be ments. The long term predictability of the sector, clear-cut responsibili- raised first of all from the private sec- ties and powers must be regulated at legislative level. tor and will be matched to the related subsidies available from the Structural Funds of the European Union during The Implementation of the Stategy the budget cycle of 2007-2013. The system of institutions empowered to Tourism relies mostly on resources it has no control over and can manage the utilization of funds from hardly influence. Accordingly, cooperation is one of the extremely the EU and the related domestic co-fi- important tools of implementing the strategy. The government level nancing will be identified in the 2nd direction of tourism is looking forward to organizing several initiatives National Development Plan, which is and cooperation projects between peer ministries and offices, local in the pipeline. In the future, the allo- governments, tourist and regional development organizations, trade cation earmarked for tourism will sup- organizations and enterprises. Naturally, the fact that a strategy has port areas that are not eligible or are the function to ‘orientate’ also means that the parties concerned can partially eligible for EU financing. Development Strategy National Tourism plan their developments in advance to a certain extent. They will see the direction the government level management of tourism takes and may follow the same course either directly through cooperation proj- The complete version of the National ects and the trade and destination management organizations or indi- Tourism Development Strategy is rectly by relating externally to the developments. available for downloading at the web-site of the Tourism Secretariat The implementation of the strategy must also be monitored so as to at http://www.mth.gov.hu. As the doc- see whether or not the goals are accomplished at the required rate ument is modified and improved grad- and degree. Monitoring involves several complex duties from data ually, the version available at the web- collection to modifying the strategy if necessary. A Monitoring Com- site will be considered to be the latest mittee to include all major partners will be responsible for supervising one from time to time. the implementation of the strategy.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 35 The Activities of the Hungarian National Tourist Office in 2005

Dear Colleagues, I am extremely pleased to present to you for the third time now our annual publication that introduces tourism in Hungary, including the activities of the Hungarian National Tourist Office in the form of a CD. This time we did not stop at upgrading the content, we also improved its appearance in line with the principals of the image manual we adopted in 2005.

Travel trade professionals and the general public met this new image for the first time during the largest international tourist image campaign launched in May 2005 under the title ‘Talent for entertaining’. We trust that the success of the campaign led to increasing the number of visitors to Hungary from almost all of our key European source markets in 2005.

Obviously, we have continued to give high priority to reaching higher penetration levels in Hungary’s important overseas markets, such as the USA, Japan and China. To achieve that goal, we maintained our cooperation with the national tourist offices of the Visegrád Four Countries in 2005. Our joint appearances at fairs, our common publications and the website we operate jointly at www.european-quartet.com under the slogan ‘European Quartet – One Melody’ have made our presence in the specific markets more efficient and have managed to increase the flow of tourists into Hungary from these source markets by 10-30%.

While exerting efforts to attract foreign tourists to Hungary, we continued to give priority to domestic tourism. Statistics prove that the campaigns we conducted to achieve that end have not failed: the number of domestic guests and guest nights was up substantially, particularly in wellness hotels, which received twice as many domestic tourists in 2005.

The publication, for which demand has been increasing year on year, contains detailed information of the above. The growing demand for the publication has confirmed that there is a continuing need for collecting, processing and publishing in easily manageable form information about all the segments of tourism in Hungary. It is with great pleasure therefore that I present to you this publication, which I hope will help us support each other in our efforts to develop tourism in this country and a tourism friendly Hungary.

I wish all of you a lot of success in those endeavors in 2006!

Budapest, 31 August, 2006

dr. Gábor Galla Chief Executive Officer Hungarian National Tourist Office

Tourism in Hungary 2005 36 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 The Focuses of the Marketing Communication Raising awareness and improving the image of Hungary as a tourist destination, Budapest, Lake Balaton, health tourism and MICE, particularly conference and incentive (C&I) tourism are in the focus of the marketing activities of the Hungarian National Tourist Office abroad. The marketing messages for domestic communication kept health tourism, event tourism and increasing the popularity of holiday vouchers in focus.

In addition to the main source markets that play an important role in the marketing activities of the HNTO (i.e. Germany, United Kingdom, Austria, Italy, USA, the Netherlands and the Northern European countries including Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden); China, France, Israel, Japan, Poland, Russia, Romania and Spain have also been given priority as markets representing significant growth potential.

The marketing communication abroad presents the tourism supply of Fore more information about the mar- Hungary through five regions (Budapest and Surroundings, Lake Ba- keting activities of the Hungarian laton, Puszta and Lake Tisza, the Hilly Wine Region of Eger and Tokaj, National Tourist Office, visit www.hun- and Pannonia/Transdanubia), while domestic promotion was based gary.com > Travel Trade Pages. on nine tourist regions (see General Information).

Image of Hungary as a Tourist Destination Building and improving Hungary’s image as a tourist destination is an important long-term priority of the HNTO. The image of Hungary as a tourist destination cannot be separated from the general image of the country. The political, economic, social, cultural, natural and technical environment also influence the tourist image of the country. The com- plexity of this image requires the use of a variety of image building methods, which in the case of the HNTO contains a wide array of marketing communication tools addressing both the general public and tourism professionals.

According to the research findings, the most significant elements of the image of Hungary as a tourist destination include its rich historical heritage and the communist past accompanied by low standard As of 2000 the Hungarian National of living, almost in all of the source countries. That Hungary once Tourist Office launched studies of the was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy is a known historical image and awareness of Hungary as fact in several countries. The hospitality of Hungarians is considered a tourist destination in Hungary's most to be a noticeable and uniformly positive component, whilst Hungar- important and emerging source mar- ian being a difficult language is mentioned by many as a negative kets. Primary research covered France aspect. and Spain in 2000, Belgium in 2001, Italy in 2002, Poland and the UK in Budapest is the most widely recognized attraction followed by the 2003, Austria, Germany, the Nether- Danube and the Lake Balaton. Regarding the country's geograph- lands and USA in 2004. Researching ic location, the image is predominantly Eastern European as com- awareness and image continued in pared to Central European. In addition to hospitality, the landscape 2005 with market studies in the North- and nature are typical elements of the image of Hungary, the beau- ern European countries including ty of Hungarian scenery and the natural treasures are uniformly Denmark, Finland, Norway and known in almost every source market. Culture, including traditions, Sweden. folk art, music and architecture are also important components in

Tourism in Hungary 2005 37 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 the image of the country. People who had been in Hungary think the country is rich in traditions and has charming sights, interest- ing towns, characteristic cuisine and friendly, hospitable people. Hungarian food and wines, dishes like goulash, or paprika, the most characteristic spice used in Hungarian cuisine, are the most frequently mentioned image elements among people knowing Hungary.

Hungary has a rich and colourful culture with traditions, historic buildings and customs left behind by several cultures in the past one thousand years. Many see the country as a bridge between East and West. Attracting millions to the country, the hospitality, unique culture, traditions and customs of Hungarians are a perfect match for the countless historical relics and monuments from almost every time.

The EU enlargement on May 1, 2004 offers excellent opportunities for the Hungarian National Tourist Office to introduce and promote Hun- gary in the most important source countries. Popular TV programs, widely read dailies, weekly and monthly papers reach millions with news and information about business opportunities, culture and customs in the ten accession countries. This improved significantly the visibility of Hungary and other Eastern European countries in the last years.

Budapest Budapest is Hungary's most important, internationally recognized tourist destination. Millions visit the Hungarian capital every year attracted by the unique geographic location, the historical buildings and monuments of the city that embraces the Danube, its World Her- itage Sites, its cultural vigor, its spas, the convention and exhibition facilities and the favourable value for money ratio. No wonder Buda- Based on the results of the image pest is a focal point in the marketing activities of the HNTO. The cap- studies, Hungary is associated first of ital and its surroundings also feature as a popular stop-over in tours all with picturesque Budapest, its rich of Central Europe. historical heritage, monumental architecture and multifaceted culture. The richness and variety of cultural entertainment, especially major Branded as truly cosmopolitan, Buda- annual events, such as the Budapest Spring Festival, the Island Fes- pest owes its unique character to its tival, the Budapest Opera and Ballet Festival and the Budapest Inter- breathtaking panorama, the Danube national Wine Festival attract multitudes to the capital of Hungary. Cul- and the abundant resource of medici- tural programs, as well as gastronomic delights and world famous nal waters. The Danube and the Hungarian wines, are additional attractions for a lot of foreign visitors bridges spanning it fill the city with a during their stay. The internationally acclaimed historical spas based sense of romance. Of the sights of on the unique resource of medicinal waters below the city are likely to Budapest, foreigners are typically enjoy even more visibility and popularity in the years to come as a familiar with the Castle District, the result of a series of reconstruction projects. Opera, Parliament, Heroes' Square, the Dohány Street Synagogue, Mar- Spa development has coupled with other important capital invest- garet Island and Gellért Bath. Foreign ment projects in tourism, mostly hotel construction, to further visitors say Budapest is ’a large city of improve the high standard of services. Measured by the number of human scale and is a must for a beds, Budapest claims roughly one third of the hotel capacity avail- tourist', it has 'so much to see', has able in the country. Hotels represent more than 80% of commercial 'everything one can imagine', it 'is accommodation capacity in Budapest, with outstanding importance alive' and is also 'charming'. of four-star and three-star facilities (Figure 26). The supply of hotel

Tourism in Hungary 2005 38 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 rooms in the city covers every segment of demand and keeps Figure 26 growing: 13 five-star hotels were available in 2005. The luxurious Capacity of Commercial five-star hotel in the capital, the New York Palace Budapest opened Accommodation in Budapest early 2006. July 2005 (%)

Budapest is the hub of transportation by public road, rail and air in Hungary, which is why the capital is often the first stop for tourists with destinations elsewhere in the country. Ferihegy Airport, the international airport of Budapest registered 8.1 million passengers in 2005, representing an increase of 1.6 million over a year earlier. The number of passengers taking low cost flights rose dynamically in 2005 to reach 2.2 million, i.e. one in four passengers chose to fly by a low cost carrier.

Budapest and the surroundings had excellent results in 2005: the arrivals at commercial accommodation establishments in the capital rose by 9.1%, and the number of guest nights surpassed the level of 2004 by 7.2% (Table 22). 5 star hotels 17.3 4 star hotels 32.1 Table 22 3 star hotels 27.8 Arrivals and Guest Nights in Budapest, 2004-2005 (%)1 2 star hotels 3.1 1 star hotels 2.5 Commercial Accommodation Hotels Guesthouses 5.6 2005 2005/2004 2005 2005/2004 Tourist hostels 4.9 Domestic Youth hostels 4.5 Arrivals (000s) 389 +7.6% 324 +8.9% Camping sites 2.1 Guest Nights (000s) 874 +4.7% 735 +6.2% Source: HCSO final data Average Length of Stay 2.2 -2.7% 2.3 -2.5% (nights) International Arrivals (000s) 2,165 +9.4% 2.052 +8.6% Guest Nights (000s) 5,599 +7.6% 5.314 +6.9% Average Length of Stay 2.6 -1.7% 2.6 -1.5% (nights) Total Arrivals (000s) 2,554 +9.1% 2,376 +8.6% Guest Nights (000s) 6,473 +7.2% 6,049 +6.8% Average Length of Stay 2.5 -1.8% 2.5 -1.6% (nights) Source: HCSO final data

The importance of Budapest in Hungarian inbound tourism is indicated by the number of foreign guest nights, more than half of which occurred in the capital in 2005. Eight out of ten arrivals at commercial accommodation in Budapest were generated by foreigners, and the number of foreign guest nights in the capital in 2005 was up by 7.6% on 2004. Arrivals from Europe represent almost 80%, those from the EU represent close to two thirds of the guest nights. Among the most important source markets for the capital the UK and Japan kept growing in 2005. The number of German, Swedish and US guest nights rose by one tenth, furthermore increase was recorded for Spain and Russia as well (Table 23).

The Budapest and Central Danube Region is a very popular destination for domestic tourists as well: 14.8% of domestic guest nights at commercial accommodation was realised in the region in

Tourism in Hungary 2005 39 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 2005. The number of domestic guest nights rose by 4.7%. In Buda- pest, 389 thousands guests spent 874 thousands nights in 2005. The number of arrivals increased by 7.6%, the number of guest nights was up by 4.7%.

Table 23 Guest Nights from Key Source Markets in Budapest, 20058 2005 2005 2005/2004 Germany 782,327 14.0% +9.1% United Kingdom 739,309 13.2% +41.6% Italy 473,763 8.5% -0.2% USA 454,387 8.1% +9.7% Spain 328,125 5.9% +8.7% France 262,328 4.7% -3.7% Japan 197,906 3.5% +26.9% Israel 170,640 3.0% -31.0% Sweden 142,370 2.5% +10.2% Austria 132,005 2.4% -11.4% Netherlands 108,719 1.9% -2.0% Russia 105,367 1.9% +5.5% Other international 1,701,801 30.4% +5.7% Total International 5,599,047 100.0% +7.6% Source: HCSO final data

In 2005, Budapest's commercial accommodation facilities had room revenues of HUF 63.3 billion (matching 55.5% of total revenues at commercial accommodation facilities of the country). 86.7% of that revenue was generated by foreign guests.

Lake Balaton Lake Balaton is the largest warm water lake in the European Union and the region surrounding the lake, along with its 156 settlements, is one of the most popular destinations for both inbound and domestic tourism.

Tourism in the region relies on the lake and the high quality tourist products offered by natural and cultural heritage. Aquatic sports, refurbished or newly constructed marinas offering services of international quality and the bicycle path encircling Lake Balaton are important components of the tourism supply besides lakeside vaca- tion. Recent years' developments have added a wide array of elements to the leisure, sport, cultural and gastronomic programs of the region.

There are 10 wine route societies in the 5 wine regions around Lake Balaton. The Association of Lake Balaton Wine Routes unites these societies and has certified members who offer a variety of programs and wine tasting. Relying on the local natural environment, health tourism has become a flagship product of the region in the wake of recent investments into tourism infrastructure. The supply side includes traditional spas and modern ones: wellness hotels, which 8 Source markets generating a minimum of help to maintain good health, and family spas with a choice of aquat- 100 thousand guest nights at commerical ic delights for the whole family. accommodation.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 40 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 The natural treasures of the lake and the surrounding areas have The Balatoncard introduced in 2005 been protected under the auspices of the Balaton Uplands National can be used at about 100 accommo- Park since 1997. The park has developed new trails and is dotted with dation facilities, restaurants and other demonstration sites to offer tourists direct insight into the natural service providers. Cardholders receive attractions. a discount of 5-25%. The structure of the accommodation facilities in the region has shown significant changes in recent years. The number of commercial accommodation units in the Lake Balaton Region increased by one fifth between 1998 and 2005. In 2005, visitors to the Lake Balaton could choose from altogether 24 four-star hotels equipped with wellness and conference services, including new four-star facilities that opened last year.

In addition to the more than 94 thousand beds at commercial accommodation facilities, there is an outstanding supply of private accommodation in the region: bed and breakfast operations claimed nine out of ten beds in the total private accommodation capacity of 160 thousand beds, while the remaining one tenth of the private capacity was associated with rural tourism in 2005. Furthermore, second homes have a substantial role in the tourism of the Lake Balaton Region: foreigners have purchased close to 10,000 second homes around the lake in recent years.

Lake Balaton and the surrounding area offer leisure programs to everyone, the shallow southern side is especially attractive for families with small children. At present family holidays at the lakeside make up the main pillar of tourism near Lake Balaton. No wonder the HNTO Thanks to recent developments, gives priority to addressing 30-50 year-old parents with children and FlyBalaton airport in Sármellék young adults in its marketing communication. receives regular and charter flights, as well. The air terminal with a capacity Table 24 of 300 thousand passengers opened Arrivals and Guest Nights at Lake Balaton, 2005 (%) in 2006, connecting the lake with 15 destinations. The air route network Commercial Accommodation Hotels including flights from Germany, 2005 2005/2004 2005 2005/2004 Switzerland, Denmark and Russia, was Domestic extended by the London-Sármellék Arrivals (000s) 706 +18.0% 513 +24.2% flight. The flight operated by Ryanair Guest Nights (000s) 2,077 +13.5% 1,424 +22.0% as of May 2006 probably results in Average Length of Stay 2.9 -3.8% 2.8 -1.8% a significant increase in the British (nights) tourism to Lake Balaton. International Arrivals (000s) 419 -1.7% 282 +1.0% Guest Nights (000s) 2,379 -6.3% 1,499 -2.8% Average Length of Stay 5.7 -4.7% 5.3 -3.8% (nights) Total Arrivals (000s) 1,125 +9.8% 796 +14.9% Guest Nights (000s) 4,456 +2.0% 2,923 +7.9% Average Length of Stay 4.0 -7.1% 3.7 -6.1% (nights) Source: HCSO final data

The Lake Balaton Region plays an important role in Hungarian tourism: it was the second most popular destination in Hungary both in terms of the number of arrivals and guest nights at commercial

Tourism in Hungary 2005 41 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 accommodation. It registered 15.9% of the arrivals last year; and Figure 27 thanks to the longer average length of stay its share of the total num- Guest Nights Generated ber of guest nights was 22.6%. by Key Source Markets at Lake Balaton, 2005 (%) The number of arrivals at commercial accommodation grew by 9.8%, while the number of guest nights by 2.0% in 2005 (Table 24). Like in world tourism, this points out the trend to shorter stay. Among the influencing factors should be also outlined that in 2005 the domestic trips with a shorter average length of stay recorded positive results: the number of domestic arrivals grew by 18.0%, the volume of the guest nights increased by 13.5%. Foreign guests stayed on an average 5.7 nights, and domestic guests stayed on an average 2.9 nights at commercial accommodation. The average length of stay came to 4.0 nights, which is over the national average and is the highest among the tourist regions.

In 2005, the split between domestic and foreign guest nights in the region was 46.6% to 53.4%. Germany 59.0 Austria 10.8 22.1% of foreign guest nights at commerical accommodation was Denmark 7.1 registered at Lake Balaton. The vast majority (98.9%) of the nights Netherlands 6.8 was generated by guests from Europe, and from the European Union Russia 2.2 (92.6%). The most important source markets for the Lake Balaton Switzerland 2.2 Region were Germany, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Russia Other international 11.7 and Switzerland , with tourists from these countries representing close Source: HCSO final data to 90% of total foreign guest nights in 2005 (Figure 27).

The Lake Balaton Region is the most popular destination of domestic tourism: its share of domestic guest nights was 23.2% in 2005. Domestic tourism at the lake is positively influenced by special packages, weekend and family activities developed by lakeside hotels. The region is increasingly popular as a venue for domestic MICE events as well.

Health Tourism Due to the even internationally unique wealth of thermal and medicinal waters in the country, health tourism is a significant element of Hungary's tourism supply. Bathing traditions dating back to more than thousand years and recent capital investments in new and restored old spas have strengthened both foreign and domestic demand. Besides medical treatments, wellness tourism is becoming increasingly popular, especially among domestic guests. Unique nat- The advantages of health tourism over ural resources and the wide array of related high quality services other forms of tourism: the spending coupled with the favourable value for money ratio generate a high (especially on medical/wellness serv- proportion of return visitors. The vast resources of thermal waters in ices) and average length of stay are Hungary and spas feature heavily in the image of the country as a both high; guests purchase a wide tourist destination. variety of services; demand shows little seasonality and is guaranteed by Based on the results of the image studies on the German market, aging societies; selecting a destina- many German tourists are familiar with the spas of Budapest and tion/service providers is based on the town of Hévíz. A visit to a thermal spa is one of the favourite trust, which generates a high rate of activities during a stay in Hungary. Tourists from Austria are mostly return visits; and it requires trained motivated to come to Hungary to take advantage of wellness staff. services and treatments or to visit a spa. In their opinion, Hungary's

Tourism in Hungary 2005 42 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 strength in this segment is the rich supply of medicinal waters, the long years tradition of spas and their good reputation. Polish tourists are also attracted by the hot springs although there is a preference among them for family spas. Tourists from the United States of America fancy historic spas just like the Italian visitors.

There are altogether 1,289 hot springs in Hungary. Spas with thermal or medicinal waters are operated in 385 settlements. There are 62 spa hotels, 38 facilities with qualified medical baths, 5 therapeutic caves, 13 health resorts, 81 recognized sources of mineral water and 315 springs of medicinal water, 4 deposits of therapeutic mud and 1 mofette.

Health tourism relies on exploiting these natural resources, which are unique in Europe and globally, as well. Health tourists are funda- mentally motivated by improving their health or healing (medical tourism) or by staying healthy and preventing illnesses (wellness tourism).

The choice among tourist services based on natural healing fac- In the framework of the development tors, such as medicinal waters, therapeutic caves, microclimate, of historical spas for which 2,500 therapeutic mud, tends to be in favour of the medical element million HUF was dedicated, five which is complemented by 'traditional' tourist services and attrac- tenders were submitted between tions. The services of medical tourism in Hungary are typically 3 November 2005 and 3 February recommended for treatment of rheumatic and locomotor diseases, 2006.These included the Turkish Bath as well as for respiratory, circulatory and digestive disorders. The of the Charity Hospital in Buda, complex services of wellness tourism, which has become the Turkish Bath in Eger, the spas increasingly popular and fashionable in recent years, seek to Gellért, Széchenyi and Lukács, improve physical condition and fitness and to protect spiritual well- in the total sum of 5,125 million HUF. being simultaneously. The fact that most of the medical services are based on natural healing factors speaks in favour of wellness tourism in Hungary.

The significance of capital investments in health tourism (sup- 2005 investments include besides ported by HUF 34.0 billion of government subsidies) is de- Budapest, several spas in the monstrated clearly by the 3,000 new jobs created by 129 projects. countryside among them Gyula, This represents a total capital investment of HUF 96 billion. 16 Egerszalók, Miskolctapolca, projects in a total value of HUF 4.75 billion were subsidized Komárom, Celldömölk, Zalakaros and in the year 2005. Barcs. The positive results of the statistics in 2005 confirm the effective- ness of the Hungarian National Tourist Office’s international and domestic health and wellness tourism campaign: Hungarian spa and wellness hotels recorded dynamic growth both in arrivals and guest nights.

The importance of health tourism is marked by the fact that one tenth of the arrivals and 13.8% of the guest nights at commerical accommodation was registered in spa hotels in 2005. Furthermore one fifth of the total hotel guest nights was realized in spa hotels. The number of arrivals in spa hotels grew by 11.0% last year, the number of guest nights showed an increase of 9.0%. Both the increase of the arrivals and that of the guest nights is more than average growth in commercial accommodation and in hotels as well (Table 25).

Tourism in Hungary 2005 43 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 Close to 60% of the guest nights at spa hotels was generated by Figure 28 foreign tourists, and 40% by domestic guests in 2005. The number Breakdown of Guest Nights of international guest nights grew by 5.9%, meanwhile the number of at Spa Hotels by Source Markets domestic guest nights increased by 13.5%. 2005 (%)

Table 25 Arrivals and Guest Nights at Spa and Wellness Hotels, 2005

Spa hotels Wellness hotels 2005 2005/2004 2005 2005/2004 Domestic Arrivals (000s) 380 +13.0% 231 +99.0% Guest Nights (000s) 1,148 +13.5% 490 +103.2% Average Length of Stay 3.0 +0.5% 2.1 +2.1% (nights) International Arrivals (000s) 347 +8.9% 52 +32.5% Germany 26.8 Guest Nights (000s) 1,573 +5.9% 211 +23.2% Austria 7.9 Average Length of Stay Switzerland 2.4 4.5 -2.8% 4.0 -7.2% (nights) United Kingdom 2.2 Total Japan 1.7 Arrivals (000s) 727 +11.0% 283 +82.1% USA 1.5 Guest Nights (000s) 2,721 +9.0% 702 +69.9% Italy 1.5 Average Length of Stay 3.7 -1.8% 2.5 -6.7% Russia 1.3 (nights) Other international 12.5 Source: HCSO final data Hungary 42.2 Source: HCSO final data Europe is of outstanding importance for the spa hotels: more than 80% of the foreign guest nights at spa hotels was generated by guests from the European Union in 2005. The key source markets of spa hotels included Germany (representing 46.3% of foreign guest nights), Austria (13.7%), Switzerland (4.2%), the United King- dom (3.8%) and Japan (2.9%). The role of health tourism is outline by the fact that one third of the German guest nights at hotels was realized in spa hotels in 2005. The same ratio, i.e. the share of spa hotels from total hotel guest nights was 41.5% for Austria, 37.2% for Switzerland, 18.8% for Japan, and 7.7% for the United Kingdom (Figure 28).

The average length of stay in spa hotels exceeded the average length of stay at commercial accommodation (2.8 nights): foreign guests stayed 4.5 nights on average in spa hotels, while the average length of stay of domestic guests was more than one nights shorter, 3.0 nights.

Spa hotels recorded an average room occupancy of 61.1% which exceeded the average occupancy of hotels (48.1%). Spa hotels realized a total revenue of HUF 16.5 billion from accommodation fee last year. Revenues from catering reached HUF 9.6 billion, furthermore spa hotels realized HUF 13.5 billion other revenues. This resulted a total revenue of HUF 39.6 billion which showed an increase of 15.6% compared to 2004. Two thirds of the room revenues were generated by foreign guests, and one third by domestic guests in 2005. International accommodation fee increased by one fifth, domestic accommodation revenue was up by one third.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 44 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 In wellness hotels, domestic tourism continues to be significant. This is outlined by the fact that the share of domestic guests was more than 80% in 2005, and domestic guests claimed seven tenth of the guest nights. Altogether 283 thousand domestic and international guests spent a total of 702 thousand nights in Hun- garian wellness hotels in 2005: the number of arrivals grew by more than 80%, while the number of guest nights exceeded the 2004 figures by 70%. Both the domestic and the international tourism showed dynamic increase: the number of domestic guest nights doubled, while the number of foreign guest nights grew by close to one fourth.

MICE The Hungarian National Tourist Office gives priority to conferences and incentive tourism (C&I) from among the components of business tourism or in other words MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conference, Exhi- bition).

Conference tourism in Hungary offers a series of advantages against other forms of tourism. Spending is higher and length of stay is longer among tourists who travel to attend conferences than among leisure tourists in general. Conference guests are leading representatives of their trade hence business tourism also triggers growth in other sectors; moreover a conference organized in Hun- gary boosts the visibility and appreciation of the country. Confer- ences help stretch the high season and offer hotels the advantage of predictability. People on business trips tend to return to the same destination as leisure tourists, which is another advantage of business tourism.

Highly experienced professional congress organizers (PCOs) and event venues guarantee the delivery of top quality services that stand international comparison. Budapest has extremely good facilities to host international and domestic conferences and to serve as a destination of incentive trips. The favourable location of the country makes Hungary easily accessible. The Budapest Thanks to a refurbishment in 2005, Ferihegy airport has direct connections to most metropolitan areas the Budapest Congress & World Tra- in Europe. Thermal waters, historical spas and luxurious wellness de Center offers modern, high quality services could complement a variety of conferences and con- services of European standards, gresses organised in Hungary. Hungarian cultural heritage, events including the Pátria room with a and festivals are internationally recognized: for instance the Buda- capacity of 1800 persons, and further pest Spring Festival or wine festivals i.e. Budapest International 18 rooms. One of the most prominent Wine Festival to name only a few. Hungarian cuisine, its dishes conference centre of the countryside and drinks of international acclaim, the wide selection of excellent is the Kölcsey Center in Debrecen. Hungarian wines flavor the time spent in Hungary with culinary It has a meeting room with a capacity delight. of 750 persons which can be extended up to 1150 persons, eight rooms Tourists on a trip to Hungary may choose from among the superb with a capacity of 100 persons each, services of 13 five star and 38 four star hotels in Budapest. In furthermore two banquet-halls for 200 recent years new congress centres and conference hotels have and 300 delegates, respecitvely. The been built in the countryside in Keszthely, Sopron, Szeged, Siófok, conference centre is accompanied by Balatonfüred and Eger. The year 2005 expanded the facilities eligi- a 200 bed-places hotel and a restau- ble for conference tourism in the towns of Pécs, Balatonalmádi and rant with a capacity of 500 persons. Debrecen. The New York Palace Budapest and the Europa Hotels

Tourism in Hungary 2005 45 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 Congress Center opened early 2006 will provide further high quality services of conference tourism in the capital.

An analysis of the main purpose of visit of hotel guests in 2005 shows that 35% of the guests travelled on business: 14% attended a conference, whilst 21% had some other business related reason to stay. That ratio was even higher in four and five-star hotels, with 36% of the guests in the four-star and 53% in five-star hotels was travelling on business.

Table 26 MICE tourism in Hungary, 2003–2005 2003 2004 2005 2005/2004 Number of International 351 326 340 +4.3% Conferences Number of Fairs 17 23 24 +4.3% and Exhibitions Number of Other Events 2,359 6,468 5,902 -8.8% Domestic Participants 32,143 13,015 17,478 +34.3% International Participants 41,636 42,312 36,208 -16.4% Average Number of 290 197 200 +1.5% Participants Nationalities Participating 9.2 11.7 10.6 -9.4% (average) Average Length of 3.1 4.0 4.0 0.0% Stay (day)

Source: HNTO

2005 was proved to be a favorable year for the MICE market in Hungary in terms of the number of conferences. Compared to the corresponding portion of the previous year, there was a 4.3% increase in the number of international conferences hosted in Hun- gary. The share of Budapest of the number of conferences was the same as last year (73%). The average number of participating nations was 10.6 which is one nation lower than in the year 2004. Average length of stay reached 4 days and the ratio of conferences lasting 1 day and over 6 days increased. The high number of events is first of all the outcome of the efforts of Hungarian service providers organizing or holding 6-10 international conferences, as their share was up 2%, whilst a reduction of identical size is observed in the number of agencies or venues organizing 1-5 events. Geographical Breakdown of The average number of participants was 200 persons, which rep- Conferences & Fairs (2005): resents increasing of 1.5% from the year of 2004 (Table 26). The 73% Budapest, 27% countryside. increase is the effect of the higher number of conferences with Venues (2005): 69% hotel, 251-500 people in attendance. Like in previous years, hotels con- 12% conference centre, tinue to be the preferred congress venue despite the decline of 10% university & science institute, 8%; at the same time the number of conferences held at universi- 9% other venues. ties, research institutes and other venues rose. Themes (2005): 29% medicine, 24% other sciences, 20% economics, The most popular conference topics included medicine (29%), 11% IT, 2% tourism, 2% transportation, economics (20%) and other fields of research (24%). Jumping from 12% other. 5% to 11%, the largest increase was reported for conferences on Nationality of Meeting Planners information technology. Half of the orders for conferences is (2005): 51% Hungarian, 12% British, received from Hungary, but the domestic share is declining. 6% French, 6% USA, 6% Belgian.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 46 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 Most of the orders originate from the United Kingdom, the USA and Belgium. Most of the conferences was attended by Hungarians (79%), followed by Germans (67%), British (58%) and French (44%).

Meeting venues in Hungary, particularly in Budapest, are traditionally popular MICE destinations and rely on favourable conditions and good value for money.

Data published by ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) show that Budapest ranked number 9 among the most popular conference towns9 in the world in 2004. That achievement can also be attributed to Hungary's positive image, forthermore to high quality accommodation facilities and also to experienced Hungarian program organizers. Hungary was placed 23rd on the list of most popular conference meeting destinations10 on a global list published by the Union of International Associa- tions (UIA) in 2005, which corresponds to a market share of 1.3%. The UIA ranks Budapest as the 12th on a list of towns that host international meetings. This ranking means that 1.1% of all international meetings were organized in the Hungarian capital in the year 2005.

Event Tourism A variety of cultural, sport, gastronomy or other events feature strongly in Hungary's tourism supply. Among cultural events arts festivals are especially noteworthy as the increasing frequency indicates mounting international and domestic interest in Hungari- an cultural heritage or in the performances by artists or ensembles invited to a festival to represent the cultural heritage of other countries in Hungary.

Different events, one-off or in series, play an important role in forming a typical and positive image of Hungary, as they allow Hungary to enjoy public recognition and have the power to increase the awareness of the destination among consumer segments representing different lifestyles. As these segments are difficult to be reached by traditional marketing techniques, the Hungarian National Tourist Office supports the events with a variety of promotion depending on the nature of the event, including the annually published event calendars available in different languages, television programs, a monthly tourist supplement, and a page with program recommendations accessible at the HNTO website. 9 In case of meetings of international organizations ICCA uses as a basis for its ranking events Depending on the character and target audience, events can be held by rotation in a different country each time classified into the following three groups: events that enrich with a minimum of 50 participants representing at significantly the program offer of a destination/region, events tar- least three nations. geted at a special audience group, and international events taking place in Hungary. 10 UIA defines meetings of international organizations as gatherings where at least 300 people are EVENTS of both national and international importance ENRICH signif- present, foreign participation reaches a minimum icantly the TOURISM SUPPLY of a tourist destination. In this way these of 40%, the number of participating nations is at events can contribute to the increase of tourist spending and the least five and the duration of the event is at least length of stay. three days.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 47 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 As the most prestigious and largest arts festival in Hungary, Budapest Spring Festival Budapest Spring Festival is an annually organized event just (BSF), Budapest before the tourist season each spring. The BSF took place for the 25th time in 2005 and presented the values of Hungarian cultural heritage through special performances, premieres, including appearance of world famous stars. Visitors of the festival could choose from close to 200 events, among them classical music concerts, classical and modern theatre performances, arts exhibitions and open air shows. Although the festival was initiated in Budapest, several cities in the countryside joined the event by organizing spring festivals among which the city of Debrecen, Gödöllõ, Gyõr, Kaposvár, Kecskemét, Pécs, Sopron, Szentendre and Szombathely should be outlined.

Dozens of dazzling flower-decorated floats move down the streets Debrecen Flower Carnival of Debrecen on August 20, each year, the day commemorating and Carnival Week, Hungary's statehood. The floral compositions are awarded by a jury Debrecen of professionals and the public. The awarding ceremony is followed by a show with different ensembles and bands. During the Flower Carnival visitors can see performances of foreign and Hungarian dance ensembles, brass bands and marching bands, banner artists and shows by street artists, photo exhibition, beer festival and a variety of musical performances.

Music has filled Dome square in front of Sacramental Church in Szeged Open-Air Festival, Szeged every summer for the past 70 years. Spectacular operas, Szeged classical and modern ballet, musicals, tempestuous folk dance evenings and other performances with the participation of world famous stars charm and enchant around 4,000 spectators each year.

EVENTS TARGETED AT SPECIAL GROUPS offer effective channels of addressing a target audience to promote tourist products and to communicate information.

Organized for the first time in 1993 on an island embraced by the Island Festival, River Danube, which divides the capital, Island Festival is widely Budapest recognized across Europe as a multicultural event for the young, and turns the green Island in Óbuda into the home for 400,000 visitors each summer. The 'inhabitants' of the Island Festival find everything required for the operation of a small town. International stars, the most popular Hungarian musicians and promising talents entertain the fans of different musical trends at 50 locations; but there are also movie shows, theatre performances, dance theatre, concerts of classical music, extreme sport facilities, exhibitions and children programmes. The visitors of the Island come from Budapest (30%), the countryside (40%) and abroad (30%).

This festival in the valley of arts has been organized each year for Valley of Arts, close to two decades. The objective of the event is to present Hun- Kapolcs, Monostorapáti, Pula, garian culture in tiny villages dotting the hills north of the Lake Ba- Taliándörögd, Vigántpetend laton. Visitors can choose from 50 venues and 800 performances, including classical theatre, dance and other open-air performances, religious, folk and cosmopolitan music, jazz, film and fine arts, crafts fairs, folk dancing, children programs and ’Green Arts

Tourism in Hungary 2005 48 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 Shows’ committed to conserving nature and environment. Nature, architecture and cultural heritage in the region, clean air and quiet countryside coupled with the festival's spirit of protecting and creating value guarantee unforgettable experiences.

The most prestigious, internationally well-known and recognized Budapest International event of the Hungarian viticulture is the Budapest International Wine Festival Wine Festival taking place in September for more than ten years. The festival attracted 50 thousand visitors in 2005. As guest of honour Italy was invited. More than 100 winegrowers and mer- chants from all the hungarian wineregions presented their products, professionals came in order to meet each other and the consumers. The main objective of the festival is to promote winetasting, and to provide a meeting point to winelovers and winegrowers.

When INTERNATIONAL EVENTS TAKE PLACE IN HUNGARY, HNTO’s main goal is to utilize the presence of international press and television coverage to present the country to the potential target audience. Distributing brochures at the event itself serves to provide participants with tourist information and to make their stay in Hungary more pleasant, so as to increase the number of return visits.

Organized at Hungaroring in Mogyoród each year since 1986, Formu- Formula-1 Grand Prix, la-1 Grand Prix is an event in Hungary that attracts a huge number of Hungaroring, foreign visitors. World famous drivers do their best to bring speed and Mogyoród forces under control to amaze a crowd of over two hundred thousand spectators year after year, and eventually the best and the most fortunate will claim victory.

Holiday Vouchers of Social Tourism The national tourism organizations and decision makers, including HNTO, keep increasing emphasis on developing domestic tourism each year, as the competitiveness of a destination in international tourism is only possible with a strong domestic travel market. These efforts have led to a substantial increase in the number of people using holiday vouchers and the number of service providers accepting them.

Act CXVII of 1995 on Income Tax determined holiday vouchers issued by the Hungarian National Holiday Foundation (HNHF) as form of tax exempt in-kind benefit. Holiday vouchers are issued by the National Holiday Service, an entity owned by the HNHF, and can be used as a cash equivalent to pay at commercial and private accommodation facilities, travel agencies and other service providers that signed an agreement with the Service. For further information visit www.nusz.hu.

Hungary introduced the system of holiday vouchers as part of the social tourism scheme on January 1, 1998 following a scheme that had been operated successfully in France for decades. The regulations in effect since January 1, 2003 increased the non-taxable value of holiday vouchers, an instrument of remunerating employees in

Tourism in Hungary 2005 49 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 kind, from HUF 20,000 to the value of the prevailing wage minimum, Figure 29 in effect from time to time (HUF 62,500 in 2006). It granted employ- Revenues from Holiday Voucher ers 100% exemption, replacing the former 50%, from payment of 2005 (%) voucher related tax.

Table 27 Social Tourism, 2003-2005

2003 2004 2005 Value of Holiday Vouchers 4,850 7,465 10,200 (HUF million) Number of Recipients 174,000 291,831 493,025

Source: HCSO / HNHF

The value of holiday vouchers purchased by employers in 2005 reached HUF 10.2 billion. In 2005, employers supported close to 444 thousands employees go on holiday, whilst the Hungarian Hotels 58.4 National Holiday Foundation provided holiday vouchers for further Guesthouses 18.0 49 thousand socially handicapped employees, pensioners and Private accommodation 9.4 their families (Table 27). Bungalows 9.0 Camping sites 3.1 The number of facilities accepting holiday vouchers exceeded 3,000 Youth hostels 1.4 last year and since March 1, 2004, holiday vouchers may be used to Tourist hostels 0.6 pay for accommodation and related services (food, medical treat- Source: HCSO / HNHF ment, sports) as well as for transportation (water – Balatoni Hajózási Rt., bus – Volánbusz Zrt., rail – Magyar Államvasutak Zrt. and the Gyõr-Sopron-Ebenfurt Vasút Zrt.) for journeys to and from the vaca- tion venue. As of 2005, the holiday vouchers are accepted by cultural and arts festivals, as well.

According to the data of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office the value of holiday vouchers accepted at commercial and private accommodation facilities approached was more than HUF 7.2 billion last year.

In 2005, holiday vouchers generated around one fifth of the revenues of commercial accommodation in domestic tourism.

Most of the vouchers (37.9%) were used in three star hotels, making them the most popular service providers. The share of four star hotels was 16.8%. Of the holiday vouchers revenue at commercial and private accommodation, 18.0% was registered at guesthouses, 9.4% at private accommodation, 9.0% at bungalows and 3.1% at camping sites (Figure 29).

Tourism in Hungary 2005 50 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 The Marketing Activities in 2005

The Hungarian National Tourist Office performed more than 2000 marketing actions to promote domestic and incoming tourism in Talent for entertaining 2005. Beside the internet, press and the trade relations which played a major role among the marketing tools, HNTO fulfilled its Meelelahutusvoime activities by various traditional marketing tools, such as advertisements, publications, exhibitions, fairs and events for the general L'Art de recevoir public. Market research supported the selection of marketing tools and decision making. Talent für Unterhaltung Talento da scoprire In spring 2005, the HNTO presented its new image to the public and the travel trade. This includes a modern and stylish logo and a slo- Talento para entreter gan to promote Hungary as a tourist destination both among international and domestic travellers. The slogan ‘Talent for entertaining’ Talent for underholdning is a clear indication of the talent mobilized in hospitality and tourism in a country of talented people. The slogan ‘Itthon otthon van’ (Here Pohostinnos a zábava you are at home) was communicated to Hungarian population and Talent voor vermaak sought to raise the awareness and the popularity of domestic tourism. Talent do goœcinnoœci The organization of the HNTO had been restructured in 2005 in Talentas linksmintis order to make decision making and operational work more efficient. The new structure has a better match with market expectations and Spejas izklaideties delegates greater authority and responsibility to foreign representa- Talent for underholdning tions and regional marketing directorates. This responds to the needs and the strengthening demand expressed by the trade and Talent bavit jiné stakeholders for conducting efficient and top quality national tourism marketing. Greater expectations also led on to rethinking Talent pentru divertisment the distribution of resources and the methodology of marketing. Talento para entretener In the newly introduced modern structure, the primary role of the för underhallning head office is to coordinate. Following the decentralization process, Talang the regions and the foreign representations have more responsibili- Kyky viihdyttää ties and enjoy greater independence, whilst their marketing activities have intensified. Yetenegimiz eglendirmek

Campaigns The focus of the most important domestic campaigns of the HNTO Domestic was the Lake Balaton. Five regions, including Lake Balaton, Lake Fer- tõ, the Orfû Lakes, Lake Tisza and Lake Velence, presented their waterside and family holiday offer to domestic tourists at the Great Lakes Festival organized with the slogan ‘Mártózzon meg a nyárban’ (Take a dip in the summer) in May and June 2005. More than 25 thousands publications were distributed during the highly successful event.

During the summer months, the HNTO also organized a road show with the slogan ‘Fedezze fel újra a Balatont!’ (Rediscover Lake Bala- ton) joining major events in Szeged, Miskolc, Pécs and Debrecen. The road show was aimed at promoting waterside and family holiday and attractions at Lake Balaton among 30-50 year-old couples with children. More than 10 thousand publications were distributed during the road show.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 51 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 Furthermore, domestic marketing activities promoting Lake Balaton in the period from March to September included: advertisements posted on vehicles in Budapest, an invitational image film aired on the television channel VIASAT and its radio spot version broadcast by regional and Budapest radio stations, 25 different publications, study tours and a Lake Balaton program booklet.

Event tourism was another important focus of domestic campaigns. Entitled ‘Itthon otthon van’, the television channel MTV 1 broadcasted a daily review of current events. Thanks to the daily program, HNTO communicated more than 1600 events to the general public during the year 2005. The printed version of the coming events is published as a monthly supplement to five dailies (Magyar Nemzet, Népszava, Magyar Hírlap, Vasárnapi Hírek, Napi Gazdaság) and is also distributed by tourist information offices (Tourinform) and local governments.

A third group of domestic campaigns run in 2005 featured a traditional theme: shaping the image of ‘Hospitable Hungary’. The actions involved the competitions ‘Clean Up Hungary’ and the Hun- garian chapter of ‘Entente Florale’ once again to mobilize municipalities, non-governmental organizations, schools and residents to clean up their environment and to create friendly circumstances in tourist areas. A project for collecting garbage in forests was conducted in cooperation with the National Chamber of Hunters and the Hungarian National Hunting Society. In 2005, Gyõr hosted the international award ceremony of the 2004 European competition of ‘Entente Florale’, where Hungarian participants were also among the recognized: Makó won silver medal followed by bronze medallist A representative of the HNTO has Ruzsa. A total of 300 Hungarian settlements entered the 2005 com- been elected as president of the petition ‘Entente Florale’, and the winners, Nagyatád and Orfû, will European organization Association participate in the international contest in 2006. Européenne pour le Fleurissement et le Paysage for the period 2004-2006. With the objective of promoting cultural tourism, the Hungarian Tourist Authority and the Ministry of National Cultural Heritage have provided the funds for equipping over 70 historical monuments with energy saving floodlighting in the past two years. The main objective of the project managed by the HNTO is to illuminate the monuments of the national heritage so as to ensure that the architectural treasures are presented properly. Floodlighting systems were installed in 2005 to illuminate the Basilica in Esztergom and the main entrance to the tun- nel under Castle Hill.

Hungarian Television announced a competition in November 2004 among the settlements participating in its popular domestic tourism program (‘Fõtér’). Awarded for the second time in December 2005, the prize for the ‘Settlement of the Year’ went to the town of Veszprém. The HNTO presented extra recognition to the winning town (the same way as it did with Kõszeg, the winner of the 2004 contest) by offering promotional support for the settlement via its tourist marketing communication channels for a year. The objective of the HNTO is to turn the attention of the domestic public to the cultural and tourist treasures of Veszprém.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 52 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 The Hungarian National Tourist Office built its 2005 international ima- International ge campaign on popular Hungarian personalities: The names and faces of 11 internationally acclaimed Hungarian celebrities appeared in press advertisements published in 21 countries and in city lights posted at 12 airports of 9 major European cities: London, Paris, Ber- lin, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Madrid, Milan and Brussels. Targeted first of all at the countries of the European Union, the campaign was run as a cooperation of the HNTO, Malév Hungarian Air- lines, the Budapest Tourism Office and Budapest Airport. For a month, over 35 million people were reached by 428 city-light posters on 7 themes: Hungary, Budapest, the Lake Balaton, wine, gastronomy, conferences and air travel. The foreign representations of HNTO operating in 21 countries kept publishing the related press advertisements in travel trade and the general periodicals in 17 languages as well as additional themes such as health, equestrian and golf tourism were in the focus of their marketing activities.

It was in 2004, the year of accession to the European Union that the HNTO relied for the fist time on using famous personalities for promoting Hungary as a tourist destination. Miss Europe 2003, Zsuzsanna Laky invited potential visitors to Hungary from European source markets with the slogan ‘Into the European Union with Miss Europe’, whilst the general public in the United States of America could view a promotional spot featuring Tony Curtis.

The internationally famous sons and daughters of this country promote the most outstanding values of tourism in Hungary in posters, in daily papers and in magazines. Judit Polgár, chess world champion of women speaks for Hungary; Andrea Rost, opera singer and the cele- brated violinist Barnabás Kelemen recommend Budapest, whilst Botond Margitics, Hungarian sailing champion offers Lake Balaton to tourists. Tamás Bender, President of the International Society of Medical Hydrology and Climatology represents health tourism; Szilveszter Vizi E., Chairman of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences stands for conference tourism; Europe Prize holder Kálmán Kalla, master chef of Gun- del advocates Hungarian gastronomy, whilst István Szepsy, winemaker of the year upholds Hungarian wine. Vilmos Lázár, World Two-in-hand Driving Champion recommends equestrian tourism, Gábor Hegedûs, golf master promotes golf courses of international quality, whilst Cap- tain Zoltán Veres, a Boeing 737 aircraft pilot and European Aerobatic Champion, invites tourists to use Hungary’s national airline company.

Two major international campaigns promoting Hungary were scheduled by the HNTO to occur during the holiday season: as part of an international television campaign conducted for a fortnight from De- The spots inviting the viewer to visit cember 17 through Christmas up to New Year’s Eve, international TV Hungary were aired on a total of channels, including EuroNews, CNN, EuroSport, Discovery Channel, 523 occasions on the six television Travel&Living and National Geographic showed three Hungary spots channels. regularly.

Secondly, the HNTO ran an international PR campaign which involved the publication of articles about Hungary’s tourism offer in the in-flight magazines of five European airlines (Malév Hungarian Airlines, Luft- hansa, AirFrance, Wizzair and EasyJet).

Tourism in Hungary 2005 53 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 Press Relations

The cooperation with television channels and radio stations (e.g. Domestic MTV1, Duna Tv, Paprika Tv, Info Rádió, Extreme Rádió, Danubius Rádió, Klub Rádió, Kossuth Rádió and Magyar Katolikus Rádió) serves to provide information to the general public in Hungary.

In addition to current tourist information and an overview of recommended coming events, the HNTO has allocated PR articles in several papers and magazines (e.g. Gusto, Tina Magazin, Penthouse, Mix Magazin, Reggel and Blikk nõk).

The Hungarian National Tourist Office provides information about the most important tourism events, about actual trends through press releases and press conferences. The press event called ‘Sajtóuzson- na’ was organized five times in 2005 for journalists specializing in tourism. The most important topics discussed included the new tourism administration, the performance (main figures and trends) of incoming and domestic tourism, tourism at Lake Balaton, and airport development projects. Furthemore, in the framework of the events, journalists could also exchange views about the results of year 2005. ‘Discover Hungary’ is the English lan- Domestic journalists participated (among others) in study tours to the guage version of the tourism supple- Southern Great Plain region organized under the title ‘Rural Heritage ment entitled ‘Itthon otthon van’, and and Rural Tourism’, to the Danube-Dráva and Õrség National Parks is circulated with BBJ, Budapester and to the Lake Balaton region under the title ‘Eco-tourism, Gastron- Zeitung, The Budapest Times, Le Jour- omy and Traditions’, and also to the Northern Great Plain to get to nal Francophone and Russziszki know its health tourism offer. Other study tours provided first hand kurir. Its main objective is to inform experience about the services of equestrian tourism in Szilvásvárad foreigners residing in Hungary about and Hortobágy and several wine districts, including Ászár-Neszmély, the tourism offer. Eger and Etyek-Buda.

As the national tourism marketing organization in Hungary, the International HNTO gives high priority to receiving international journalists. In 2005, the HNTO hosted almost 900 representatives of the electronic and the printed press from altogether 29 countries. The added value of the articles and reports published by them exceeded HUF 5.4 billion. That figure also shows the importance that the Board of the International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists, held its 2005 meeting in Hungary with the HNTO’s active participation. The board members of IPI founded in 1950 and counts about 1000 members at present, also took part in a sightseeing tour and in cultural and gastronomic events organized by the HNTO.

More than 10 million Americans watched an episode of the American CBS, a popular adventure and travel series shot in Hungary. 17 major European TV channels aired a film shot by German and French professionals presenting the culinary treasures of the Danube. 24 representatives of the Chinese electronic and printed media participated in a study tour organised in Hungary as part of the cooperation of the Visegrad Four countries.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 54 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 The participants of the study tours organised for European and over- The international periodicals that seas travel trade journalists were introduced to the Island Festival, the published articles and supplements architecture of Budapest, the ecotourism offer, the ‘Bartók + …’ Mis- about Hungary in 2005 included kolc International Opera Festival and events related to vintage and National Geographic Traveler, Christmas. As in previous years, the HNTO operated a press centre Voyages Voyages, Financial Times, during the Budapest Spring Festival to cater for the needs of 50 inter- Conde Nast Traveler, Stern and national journalists visiting the festival. Hungary hosted 40 journalists Berliner Zeitung. and tour operators on the occasion of the scheduled Malév flight’s opening between Sármellék and Stuttgart in July 2005. The guests got an insight into the tourism offer of Lake Balaton.

Trade Relations Cooperation with Hungarian trade periodicals (i.e. GSZT, TTG, Turiz- Domestic mus Panoráma, Turizmus Trend, and Vendéglátás) is an efficient form of communicating with travel trade professionals.

A professional forum organised to launch the season in February, 2005 hosted close to 300 travel trade professionals. To complement the presentation of the current trends of domestic tourism, the HNTO started up a series of travel trade presentations entitled ‘The Source Market of the Month’ in 2005. The events generated substantial interest and a full house on each occasion, was modelled after its pred- ecessors, ‘The Tourist Region of the Month’ and ‘The Tourist Product of the Month’, which were organized in previous years. The presenta- For further information about the pre- tions in 2005 included an insight into the source markets Italy, France, sentations, visit www.hungary.com > the United States of America, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain, Ger- Travel Trade Pages. many and the United Kingdom.

The HNTO continued the tradition started in earlier years by announc- ing a contest ‘Tourism Thesis of the Year’ for the fifth time in 2005. A total of more than 40 competing thesis was received, a record number of applications.

With the objective of improving the welcome of guests and to strengthen the famous Hungarian hospitality, training of service providers’ staff that has direct contact to guests directly was also included in the marketing activities of 2005. The HNTO held presentations and provided up-to-date information for the representatives of tourist information offices, tourist guides and the ticket inspectors of the Budapest transportation company (BKV Zrt.) as part of the training program.

The HNTO received more than 1500 trade professionals from International 28 countries on study tours in 2005. Among the cooperation the Visegrád Four cooperation should be outlined, which focuses on the foreign trade relations and on the presentation of the four countries as a single tourist product in overseas markets on a longer term.

The information accessible under the Travel Trade Pages of HNTO’s official website, and on the source market specific websites operated in 18 languages in 25 countries, provides an efficient communication platform for the international press and trade professionals.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 55 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 In July and December, 2005 the HNTO received a Chinese delegation of 60 persons representing two tour operators. On both occasions, in the framework of a tourism workshop Hungarian travel agencies interested in Chinese incoming tourism had the opportunity to meet their partners and exchange information. The participants could interact directly and could negotiate face to face with their Chinese professionals.

As part of the marketing activities in the most important Western Euro- pean source markets, the HNTO and the Budapest Tourism Office launched a joint road show in September, 2005 to promote Budapest in London, Frankfurt, Paris, Barcelona and Madrid.

Events of the International Travel Trade Organised in Hungary

The HNTO gives priority to attracting international travel trade events to Hungary. These occasions are especially suitable for directing the attention of the travel trade professionals of a country or a region to Hungary by hosting a relatively small group.

Like in previous years, several prestigious international trade organisations decided to hold their meetings in Hungary in 2005 as a result of the HNTO’s active lobbying. The British Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) convened their annual conference and the board of directors of the Japanese Association of Travel Agencies (JATA) met in Hungary in 2005, to mention only a few.

Furthermore, Hungary was selected as the venue of a partner meeting organised by the reputed German trade periodical Incentive Jour- nal. The event set the scene for 50 important German congress and conference organisers to get an insight into the tourism offer of Hun- gary. The programs offered by the Hungarian National Tourist Office every time provided a comprehensive overview of Hungary’s tourism offer to foreign fellow professionals.

The HNTO launched its ‘Conference Ambassador Program’ in 2004 in an attempt to motivate and increase international MICE tourism. With the objective of complementing the fortunate rise in the number of domestic conferences, the program helps to attract international meetings to Hungary through mobilizing the ‘conference ambassadors’, i.e. researchers, physicians, engineers and other professionals representing Hungary in the international organizations of their field. This initiative utilizes the benefits involved in the ability of a professional who is motivated by the prestige and the relationship equity of each visit of a foreign colleague to Hungary to argue for holding a meeting in Hungary. An analysis of the results of the first two years suggests that the previous rounds of the project had been successful. A total of four rounds generated altogether 20-25 thousand conference guests for Hungary. Applications for the conference ambassadors’ program can be submitted all year round.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 56 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 Exhibitions, Fairs and Events for the General Public The HNTO participated in about 30 domestic exhibitions in 2005, Domestic including first of all the ‘Utazás’ Travel Exhibition, Gasztrorandevú (Gastronomic Rendezvous), the Business Travel Show and the Spa & Wellness Health Tourism Trade Exhibition and Fair. In addition to main- taining a presence at other Budapest based exhibitions, such as FEHOVA Hunting, Fishing and Arms International Exhibition, Youth Accommodation Bourse, the OMÉK International Exhibition of Agricul- ture and Food, and Edukatio International Educational Exhibiton and Fairs, the HNTO also took part in each major trade exhibition and fair held in the countryside.

Organized every March as Hungary’s most important and most prestigious travel trade show, the ‘Utazás’ Travel Exhibition plays a major role in presenting the Hungarian tourism supply. The Hungari- an National Tourist Office published its brochures about package holidays at the 2005 event. Together with the Hungarian National Gastro- nomic Association the HNTO was also actively involved in the ‘Gasztrorandevú’ gastronomical exhibition which was held in conjunc- tion with the travel exhibition.

The ‘Budapest International Wine Festival’ and ‘Wine Village’, two successful events that take place year after year, served to promote wine and gastronomy. The ‘Business Travel Show’, which registered more than 150 exhibitors and 3000 corporate customers, was designed to present the MICE tourism offer of Hungary. Held for the fourth time in 2005, the SPA Health Tourism Trade Show, Conference and Fair focused on the health tourism services. During a study tour, the journalists and tour operators invited to the exhibition could also have first hand experience of Hungary’s health tourism services.

In addition to participating in the above mentioned exhibitions and fairs, the HNTO took an active role in the organisation of more than twenty events of national importance, including the 2nd International Sport Event for the Travel Industry; the Meeting of the Presidents of the EU Parliament; the International Balneology Conference; Summer on Chain Bridge; the 3rd Equestrian World Festival; Tihany Open Air Theatre Festival and the Vienna-Budapest Supermarathon.

The events held in 2005 were crowned by the international geography competition of the National Geographic Society held in Budapest as a gathering for the most talented geography students from twenty countries. National Geographic Society organised the world champi- onship, which generated massive interest in the international media and the general public, in cooperation with the Hungarian National Tourist Office in the summer of 2005.

The Hungarian National Tourist Office participated in a total of 150 International exhibitions abroad and used close to 6000 m² of exhibition area in 2005. The most important exhibitions the HNTO took part abroad included the Internationale Tourismus-Börse (ITB) in Berlin, IMEX in Frankfurt, EIBTM in Barcelona, the London World Travel Market and two joint appearances with the Visegrad Four countries in Tokyo and Kunming.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 57 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 The HNTO also participated in several events organized abroad for the general public in 2005. In February 2005, the HNTO offered its brochures at one of the most prestigious social events, the Vienna ’Kaffeesiederball’ (Coffee Brewers’ Ball), which was hosted in royal Hofburg. The HNTO also presented its publications and posters at an exhibition of Hungarian contemporary art with the title ‘Hongarije aan duinen’ and at the Wine Show organized by the Hungarian Embassy both taking place in The Hague.

Organised jointly by the HNTO and the Accor Hotel Group at venues provided by three IBIS hotels in London, the ‘Week of Hungarian Gas- tronomy’ was a great success. Furthermore, in the Hungarian restaurant of London, the HNTO staged a day of Hungarian cuisine and tourism in cooperation with the local Danubius hotel and a tour operator.

The HNTO supported several promotional activities to complement the ‘Year of Hungarian Culture’ event series organized by Hungarofest in Russia in 2005. The History Museum in Red Square opened its ‘Budapest Photo Exhibition’ in April, Hungarian wines were served to visitors of the opening ceremony. The HNTO provided the main attraction of the opening ceremony of a business exhibition, which opened in May with the title ’Hungary in the EU’, where world famous Bea Palya and Samu Gryllus played authentic Hungarian folk music. A Hungarian stand waited for the visitors of Europe Day in Red Square. To conclude the ‘Year of Hungarian Culture’, the joint Hungarian, Aus- trian and Russian graphic arts exhibition held in the State Hermitage Museum was followed by a wine tasting session offered by the HNTO. In Beijing, the Hungarian Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened an event entitled ‘Europe Street’ in the metropolis in Septem- ber using decorations and distributing publications provided by the Hungarian National Tourist Office.

Publications In 2005, the Hungarian National Tourist Office issued close to 65 different publications in about 20 languages. Brochures were distributed in 8 million copies, including 3.5 million ones targeted at domestic tourists and 4.5 million publications for international dissemination. In addition to general publications, the brochures printed in 2005 included regional image publications, brochures and booklets presenting a tourist product and holiday offers to guide foreign and domestic guests.

The portfolio of previously successful tourist publications, such as the brochure of Hungary; the folder series about Hungary, Budapest and the Lake Balaton; National Parks, Shalom, the publications of holiday packages and the event calendar, were complemented by several novelties in 2005: the HNTO published its golden book of spa hotels in German language for the first time. Entitled ‘Golden Club’, the book is intended for health insurance funds. The brochures about Wine & Gastronomy and Hungarian Culture are among the many that As of spring 2005, electronic versions appeared in a new form and with updated content. An expanded edi- of the publications are available at tion of the brochure that presents Hungarian World Heritage Sites was www.hungary.com. also published.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 58 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 The travel trade publications of the HNTO, including the MICE CD, the brochure about incentive tourism offer, the scientific trade journal ‘Turizmus Bulletin’ and the CD entitled ‘Tourism in Hungary’ continue to be highly successful. The format of the MICE CD, which contains the data and services of more than 150 partner organizations, has been adjusted to the new corporate image and the CD is now available in six languages (Hungarian, English, German, French, Spanish and Russian). The electronic database covers everything from conference hotels through unique venues for events and incentive program options to tour operators.

Arranged for publication by HNTO, ‘Turizmus Bulletin’, the only journal of scientific character published for travel trade professionals in Hungary, is accessible in electronic form at the HNTO website.

Launched in 1997, the periodical caters for both academics and practitioners, including government departments, non-profit tourist associations on national, regional and local level, travel trade associations, tourist businesses, tourism consultants, professionals involved in tourism research and education and the next gen- eration of professionals, i.e. students. Among other topics, the ‘Turizmus Bulletin’ regularly publishes the main findings of primary and secondary domestic and international research projects conducted by the HNTO, studies of actual issues in tourism as well as statistics analyzing incoming, domestic and outgoing tourism performance in Hungary.

Internet Despite operating travel trade websites in 18 languages in 25 coun- Hungary was the first in the region to tries at present, the HNTO embarked on major development projects create a webpage in Chinese, which to develop its electronic marketing in 2005. is accessible at www.xiongyali.cn. The on-line travel trade database (where service providers can regis- ter free of charge) contains the data of 25,000 service providers and attractions. The database accessible at www.itthon.hu or www.hungary.com also offers an on-line reservation opportunity where possible. The website integrates electronic versions of the publications and an on-line ordering opportunity of them. Travel trade users can also download photographs about Hungary from the Photo Gallery.

The public pages of HNTO’s website offer general information illustrated with photos, as well as useful and update information about transportation, attractions and programmes/events, accommodation facilities, other tourist services and about tourist regions and products.

The Travel Trade Pages provide general information about the HNTO as well as information about market studies and other researches, The websites operated by the head exhibitions and fairs and the current marketing and action plan. office, regional and representative News and up-to-date information concerning conference and offices of the HNTO had 6.7 million incentive tourism is available directly at www.hcb.hu. Journalists visitors in 2005. The number of clicks are helped by supporting news, articles, other documents and the on the official HNTO website was up Photo Gallery. 40% in 2005.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 59 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 Thanks to the cooperation of the HNTO and T-Mobile, mobile phones with WAP can now access electronic program information from any location at any time to see dates, venues and a short description along with the latest news. Furthermore, users can obtain up-to-date information about the holiday vouchers. Of the close to 4 million sub- scribers of T-Mobile, mobile users with suitable mobile phones can also browse a map using GSM positioning system to identify the near- est accommodation, restaurant, spa, sight or tourist information office.

Contact Centre The contact centre of the Hungarian National Tourist Office has an international toll free number (+800-36-000000) available from eight countries, whilst the domestic public can call in for information about actual tourist programs and events free of charge at 06-80-630-800.

The contact centre handled close to 38 thousand incoming calls inquiring most frequently about programs and entertainment, accommodation facilities, publications, the means of transportation, travel agencies, sights, restaurants and tourist information offices. 60% of the calls were made in Hungarian, 16% in English, 13% in German and 11% of the callers asked for help in other languages. Most of the written queries received by the Contact Centre were in English or German.

Marketing Research The series of image studies launched in 2000 continued with the Nordic countries (of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden) in 2005. The objective of these studies is to survey the image and awareness of Hungary as a tourist destination, furthermore the travelling habits of people/potential visitors from the main and emerging source markets.

Besides the usual annual survey of the travelling habits of the Hungar- ian population, the survey of summer travel plans was also complemented in 2005. The research, which studied the domestic and foreign trips of Hungarian residents in 2005, focused first of all on the image of Lake Balaton and on the potential of wine and gastronomy tourism.

The HNTO conducts quarterly surveys of the characteristics of MICE tourism in Hungary and publishes its findings directly to travel trade professionals and stakeholders.

One of the focuses of the research activities in 2005 was sharing research findings with the travel trade. The HNTO used several channels (internet, direct mail, travel trade press, presentations, etc.) to disseminate the research findings available to travel trade For more information about the professionals. Furthermore a personal consultation every Thursday research findings, visit www.hun- was introduced when professionals can get an insight in all the gary.com > Travel Trade Pages. research reports.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 60 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 Cooperation with the Trade

The intensity of HNTO's cooperation with the trade in Hungary Up-to-date information about the and abroad has strengthened in the past few years. Cooperating HNTO’s marketing activities and with strategic partners is a priority in the marketing activities of cooperation opportunities is available the company. This means strengthening existing relations, at http://akcioterv.hungarytourism.hu adding new content to existing agreements and establishing website. new partnerships. The rolling action plan is one of HNTO's inno- vative marketing tools. It was upgraded in 2005, and is available under the Marketing Plan section in the Travel Trade Pages of the website to help tourism professionals join marketing activities easily.

The Hungarian National Tourist Office is an affiliate member of the World Tourism Organization United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Membership in www.world-tourism.org the most prestigious organization of tourism offers several cooperation opportunities to the HNTO, including data exchange regarding the developments and trends in world tourism, purchasing publications, participation in international projects, surveys, studies and com- pilations of trade publications, furthermore organizing international conferences and events in Hungary.

Thanks to Hungary’s active cooperation in the UNWTO’s work, Hungary has been elected as member of the Executive Council of the UNWTO at the 2005 General Assembly. This gives us the opportunity for more active cooperation in forming and fulfiling the UNWTO’s working plan, furthermore it provides an extensive platform for Hungary’s tourism and for the communication of its results.

According to an agreement, in the framework of the UNWTO work programme Hungary will host a UNWTO international seminar focusing on destination management in February 2007 which will take place in Budapest.

The Hungarian National Tourist Office has been a member of the European Travel Commission European Travel Commission (ETC) since 1996. Members of the www.visiteurope.com, organization are the national tourist offices of 34 European coun- www.etc-corporate.org tries. The main objective of the ETC is to promote Europe as a tourist destination and thereby to increase European inbound tourism from overseas source markets. As a result of cooperating within the organization, the HNTO has the opportunity to participate in several international research projects and marketing actions. During the last years Hungary has hosted meetings of the European Travel Commission on several occasions. Thanks to the active and successful cooperation, dr. Gábor Galla, the chief executive officer of the HNTO has been elected as member of the Board of Directors of ETC in 2005.

Year 2005 was promoted as the ’Year of E-marketing’ by the ETC. During the year special attention was dedicated the www.visiteurope.com portal’s development. The project’s main goal is to promote the European website as a primary on-line information source for travellers interested in European destinations. Besides the extension of the information available, the development of the portal focused on its services and the database behind it.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 61 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 The 'European Quartet – One Melody' means the cooperation of the Visegrád Four Countries competent ministries, government agencies and the national tourism www.european-quartet.com organizations (NTO) in the four Visegrád countries (the Czech Repub- lic, Hungary, Poland and the Slovak Republic). Cooperation started in February 2003, and aims to implement joint marketing, particularly promotion activities. The Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Slovakian national tourism organizations consider as an equally notable objective to increase inbound tourism and tourism receipts and to strengthen the awareness and positive image of their countries as tourist destinations.

However, neither Hungary nor any other country in Central and East- ern Europe constitute an attractive destination in themselves on overseas markets such as the USA, China, Japan or India. The overseas tourists tend to prefer touring holidays in Europe whereby the Euro- pean Quartet countries' combined tourist supply is of great interest for overseas travellers. The geographical closeness, common historical and cultural heritage, religious monuments and arts enable the Viseg- rád Four (V4) countries to cooperate in promoting certain products, including historical cities, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Jewish culture and heritage and spas.

The common marketing activity, that the four countries conduct with increasing intensity comprises activities such as presence at international travel fairs and exhibitions, developing and upgrading the website accessible at www.european-quartet.com, common publication and spot about historical cities and World Heritage Sites, organizing road shows and study tours, exchanging statistics and marketing research information. Hungary hosted the meeting of the V4 countries’ national tourism organizations in December 2005.

In the framework of the cooperation, 2005 year activities included a study tour for Chinese tourism professionals, and a road show in With the active participation of HNTO, the USA. The tourism offer of the V4 countries was presented at the V4 countries together with Austria Japanese JATA and at the Chinese CITM exhibitions. Besides statis- and Germany launched the tical data exchange, V4 countries published a general brochure and www.gotocentraleurope.com map as well. website aimed at the US market. The supplement of the Travel Weekly During its presidency, Hungary organized the meeting of V4 coun- and the electronic newsletter ‘Selling tries’ tourism stakeholders, i.e. ministers on 7-8 February, 2006. Central Europe’ were distributed Besides the evaluation of last years’ activities, the main goal of the among 95 thousand tour operators meeting was to discuss the future cooperation areas. The common and travel agencies. action plan was approved at the meeting.

The Hungarian Collective Agricultural Marketing Centre is an Agricultural Marketing Centre organization that was established to enlarge the markets of Hun- www.amc.hu garian agricultural and food products, and it has the following main tasks: • support the sale of Hungarian agricultural products on the domestic and international markets, using Community marketing tools, • spread the application of modern trade methods in the Hungarian food industry, and to strengthen the marketing approach, • shape the country's agricultural supply, • enhance the exportability of Hungarian products,

Tourism in Hungary 2005 62 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 • assist producers, particularly small and medium-size enterprises, processors and distributors with their activities on the markets, and to increase their competitiveness, • support regional development and regional marketing projects, and • promote the more efficient application of state grants.

The agreement with the Agricultural Marketing Centre covers the common participation at trade fairs, the preparation of relevant brochures, the organization of study tours, and the use of photo libraries.

The agreement between Budapest Tourism Office and the HNTO cov- Budapest Tourism Office ers the exchange of research materials/market information, joint www.budapestinfo.hu research projects, brochures, the use of photographic archives, participation in exhibitions, organizing study tours and product development. The main goal of the cooperation is the coordination of the marketing activities of the two organizations. The Budapest Tourism Office was a partner of the ’Talent for Entertaining’ campaign of the HNTO in 2005 as well.

The main objective of the cooperation is to highlight for foreign visi- Budapest Spas and Hot tors that Budapest is one of the most important Hungarian destina- Springs Co. tions of health tourism. The cooperation covers marketing communi- www.budapestgyogyfurdoi.hu cation and promotion including e.g. the reception of journalists and joint appearances abroad.

The main objective of cooperating with the National Federation of National Federation of Rural Rural and Agricultural Tourism is harmonizing the efforts of the and Agricultural Tourism two organizations and conducting common marketing activities www.falusiturizmus.info.hu aimed at the promotion of rural tourism. The cooperation includes preparing and distributing a joint brochure, participating in exhibitions, organizing study tours and trade events and online marketing/internet site. In the framework of the cooperation, the ’Live Europe – European Week of Rural Tourism’ was organized in October 2005.

Health tourism service providers, especially medical service Golden Club providers do strong efforts in order to map and use of new market opportunities. The Golden Club cooperation is an initiative of the leading Hungarian spa hotels. Its main objective is to present the services of the Hungarian spa hotels in the German speaking source markets (including Austria, Germany and Switzerland). The brochure is targeted at the health insurance companies in order to increase the number of visitors to Hungary with health tourism motivation.

The Golden Club booklet published in German in November 2005 provides detailed information about spa facilities and the effects of natural resources, services, including entertainment and programs. In the framework of the cooperation with Golden Club members HNTO participated in the coordination and preparation of the booklet. Fur- thermore HNTO plays an active role in its promotion and distribution to the health insurance companies of the above mentioned source markets.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 63 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 The cooperation with this famous porcelain factory aims at raising the Herend Porcelain awareness of foreign tourists of Hungary’s cultural heritage, including Manufactory Ltd. Herend china, which enjoys international acclaim as a unique Hungar- www.porcelanium.com ian product ‘Hungaricum’. In the framework of the cooperation the Herend Porcelain Manufactory Ltd. has the opportunity to present its products and services at the major international tourist exhibitions, and to advertise in printed and electronic media and on the internet. In consideration, Herend Porcelain Manufactory Ltd. provides take away gifts to trade visitors including participants of study tours, furthermore presents the manufactory and the museum to the tourism professionals.

The Hungarian Airlines plays an important role among the HNTO’s strategic partners. An agreement between Malév and HNTO pro- Transport Companies vides that the two organizations will coordinate their activities to promote incoming tourism so as to increase the number of foreign guests who choose Hungary as a destination. To achieve this com- MALÉV mon goal, both organizations make available their own assets. Malév www.malev.hu is responsible for transporting foreign journalists and travel professionals to Hungary for study trips. Two Malév airplanes doing long-haul service now bear the official logo of the Hungarian National Tourist Office and the tourist image spots of the country have been incorporated into Malév’s in-flight video. The HNTO will make sure that the national airline company appears and is advertised at HNTO’s exhibitions abroad, at its domestic trade events and in its promotional publications. The national tourist office invited the airlines to participate in ‘Talent for Entertaining’, the campaign designed to strengthen the image of Hungary as a tourist destination. The links provided by the two organizations to each other’s websites and the mutual insertion of banners also help boost the popularity of the national flight operator. The HNTO participated actively in the press activities surrounding the launch of flights servicing Oslo–Budapest, Gothenburg–Budapest, Mala- ga–Budapest and Sármellék–Stuttgart. Moreover, the two organizations cooperate in organizing trade congresses, workshops and the study trips of foreign journalists and trade professionals travelling to Hungary, and make mutually available to each other their promotional publications and information booklets.

The Hungarian National Tourist Office has kept the cooperation with low Low Cost Airlines cost airlines in sharp focus ever since the first flights started up, and has implemented joint marketing projects with them, including advertising, organizing study tours for journalists and travel trade professionals, participating in exhibitions, DM (direct mail) actions and cooperating in the compilation of in-flight magazines. Low cost airlines started to operate the first flights to Budapest in March 2003, and Hungary was offered as a destination by altogether 8 low cost operators by late 2005. Budapest is now accessible from most major cities in Europe by a low cost flight operated by the German Air Berlin and Germanwings, the SkyEurope Air- lines, the British-Hungarian Wizz Air, the British EasyJet Airlines, Jet2Com Airlines and Sterling European Airlines and the Norwegian Air Shuttle.

The 2005 World Tourism Day prompted the World Tourism Organiza- Budapest Public tion to highlight the important role transportation plays in tourism, Transportation Company which the HNTO responded to by concluding an agreement with Bu- www.bkv.hu dapest’s public transportation company, BKV Zrt. As part of the agree-

Tourism in Hungary 2005 64 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 ment, BKV ticket inspectors were trained to communicate more polite- ly and more efficiently with foreign tourists using public transport in an attempt to improve their feeling of comfort of foreign tourists. The agreement also provided that the two companies should prepare a joint information leaflet to aid communication in English, German and Russian. Furthermore, the HNTO agreed to distribute BKV’s informa- tive publications in the network of tourist information (Tourinform) offices and to display the information BKV addressed to foreign tourists in its publications about Budapest and at its website. The agreement obliges BKV to regroup its inspection staff and to allocate selected ticket inspectors who received training in communicating with tourists to routes with a large turnover of foreign visitors.

The agreement concluded with Mahart Passnave Personal Shipping Mahart PassNave Company seeks to promote aquatic tourism in Hungary among foreign Personal Shipping Company and domestic guests. In addition to exchanging information booklets www.mahart.hu and leaflets, advertising and running common marketing projects, the official logo of Hungary is now displayed on the nine hydrofoils that transport passengers on the Budapest–Bratislava–Vienna route.

With the objective of giving new impulse to domestic tourism by Hungarian State Railways rail, the state-owned Hungarian railway company (MÁV) launched www.mav.hu a large-scale touring-by-rail program, which envisages cooperation between the Hungarian National Tourist Office and the railway company to offer new services by rail: the novelty of the summer season in 2005 was an InterCity package that offered special domestic tourist services to rail users. A 2005 publication entitled ‘Vasutazó’ (Rail-Away-Tourist) is one of the outcomes of the long years cooperation between MÁV and the HNTO, which also covers advertising and participation in fairs. The booklet addresses domestic tourists and highlights Hungarian destinations with InterCity service. The packages offered in the publication include travel costs, accommodation and additional programs.

Thirty Euroline buses have been touring the roads of 15 European Volánbusz Coach & Bus Operator countries with a ‘Follow me to Hungary’ sign since spring 2005 as a www.volan.hu result of a cooperation agreement between the HNTO and Hungary’s coach and bus operator, Volánbusz Zrt. The buses also display the official country logo and the internet address. The two organizations seek to advertise Hungary and its tourism offer using a novel media, the outer surface of buses. The agreement also provides that the two companies include links to each other’s websites in their homepages to help people plan their holidays. The agreement concluded with Vo- lánbusz contains HNTO’s commitment to distribute the information leaflets and booklets of the bus operator at foreign and domestic exhibitions and to provide advertising opportunities free of charge in its publications.

The HCSO conducts regular surveys of the travelling habits, motiva- Hungarian Central tions and tourism expenditure of foreign tourists in Hungary and of Statistical Office the Hungarian citizens. In addition to participating in the develop- www.ksh.hu ment of the methodology of data collection, the HNTO makes available brochures, maps and give-away items for distribution to survey participants. Moreover, the HNTO contributed to compiling 'Számok- ban Utazunk', a brochure published regularly in connection with the surveys.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 65 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 The Hungarian Investment and Trade Development Company Investment and Trade (ITDH) founded in 1993, is a support institution to the Ministry of Development Company Economy and Transport and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ITDH’s www.itdh.hu task is to establish contacts between Hungarian entrepreneurs, institutions of central and regional administration and foreign partners. Its formal and informal contacts with state administration and participants in the market developed during the past few years, ensure a prominent position among companies of a similar profile. ITDH is an organization: • following European models in its construction, • having an extensive network of offices both in Hungary and abroad, as well as an extensive database, • focusing on the enhancement of investment and trade development, • of a non-profit character, • providing information, consulting and services.

In 2005 on the important source markets where the Hungarian Nation- al Tourist Office did not have a representation, such as the Ukraine and the Slovak Republic, the local offices of the Hungarian Investment and Trade Development Company performed the tourism related marketing activities.

Another objective of the agreement between the HNTO, the ITDH and the Agricultural Marketing Center (see above) is to coordinate the marketing activities, especially the marketing communication and PR targeted at both Hungary and foreign markets. Boosting the intensity and efficiency of cooperation between the domestic and foreign net- works of the three organizations through participating together in a variety of events as envisaged in short, medium and long term strategic plans is the major form of cooperation.

HNTO is an affiliate member of the Hotel Association of Hungary. Hotel Association of Hungary In the framework of the membership HNTO informs the association www.hah.hu twice a year about its marketing activities and about the latest issues of the national tourism promotion. The HNTO’s brochures about hotels is in accordance with the classification of the accommodation facilities. Furthermore, the members of the Hotel Associ- ation are marked in HNTO’s brochures.

The main objective of the cooperation agreement between the Association of Hungarian Association of Hungarian Travel Agents and Tour Operators and Travel Agents and the Hungarian National Tourist Office established in 2003 is to pro- Tour Operators mote Hungary as a tourist destination and to increase the volume www.muisz.com of incoming tourism.

In the framework of the cooperation, HNTO actively helps in presenting Hungarian tourism services to the incoming tour operators/agencies and tourism professionals involved in promoting Hungary as a tourist destination. This means an assistance in organizing study tours, publishing high quality brochures and leaflets about Hungary’s tourism products and services, furthermore designing websites. HNTO also supports the association’s members work by providing presentation schemes about Hungary which can be used at presentations with the objective of the promotion of Hungarian tourism products and services.

Tourism in Hungary 2005 66 Marketing Activities of the HNTO in 2005 Regional Marketing Directorates

Budapest and the Central Danube Region Marketing Directorate H-1061 Budapest, Liszt Ferenc tér 11. • phone: (+36 1)479-0158, fax: (+36-1)479-0149 e-mail: [email protected] • website: www.budapest-regio.hu Central Transdanubia Regional Marketing Directorate H-8000 Székesfehérvár, Piac tér 12–14. • phone: (+36-22)370-051, fax: (+36-22)370-063 e-mail: [email protected] • website: www.kdregio.hu Lake Balaton Regional Tourist Project Office H-8230 Balatonfüred, Blaha Lujza u. 2. • phone: (+36-87)342-801, fax: (+36-87)342-871 e-mail: [email protected] • website: www.balaton-tourism.hu Lake Tisza Regional Project Office H-5350 Tiszafüred, Kossuth tér 1. • phone: (+36-59)351-753, fax: (+36-59)351-753 e-mail: [email protected] • website: www.tisza-to-info.hu Northern Great Plain Regional Marketing Directorate H-5000 Szolnok, Sóház utca 8. • phone: (+36-56)516-110, fax: (+36-56)516-116 e-mail: [email protected] • website: www.eszakalfoldi.hu Northern Hungary Regional Marketing Directorate H-3300 Eger, Dobó tér 9. • phone: (+36-36)512-440, fax: (+36-36)512-446 e-mail: [email protected] • website: www.nordtur.hu Southern Great Plain Regional Marketing Directorate H-5700 Gyula, Erkel tér 1. • phone: (+36-66)521-020, fax: (+36-66)521-024 e-mail: [email protected] • website: www.pusztaregion.hu Southern Transdanubia Regional Marketing Directorate H-7621 Pécs, Megye utca 4. • phone: (+36-72)514-620, fax: (+36-72)310-067 e-mail: [email protected] • website: www.deldunantul.hu Western Transdanubia Regional Marketing Directorate H-9400 Sopron, Új utca 4. • phone: (+36-99)512-594, fax: (+36-99)512-598 e-mail: [email protected] • website: www.nyugatdunantuliregio.hu

Tourism in Hungary 2005 67 Tourinform Offices

Address: Budapest H-1548 • Phone: (+36 1)438-8080 (0-24) • Fax: (+36 1)488-8661 Hot-line: (0680)630-800, (0630)30-30-600 Internet: www.hungary.com, www.itthon.hu • E-mail: [email protected]

BUDAPEST AND THE CENTRAL DANUBE REGION CENTRAL TRANSDANUBIA Budapest H-1052 Sütő utca 2. (Deák tér) Bakonybél H-8427 Fő u. 15. • (+36 88)461-476 • Fax: (+36 88)461-476 • [email protected] Budapest H-1185 Ferihegyi Repülőtér 1, 2A és 2B terminál Bakonyszombathely H-2884 Kossuth u. 50. • (+36 34)359-155 • Fax: (+36 34)359-122 Budapest H-1014 Szentháromság tér, (Budai Vár) • (+36 1)488-0475 • Fax: (+36 1)488-0474 [email protected] Budapest H-1061 Liszt Ferenc tér 11. • (+36 1)322-4098 • Fax: (+36 1)342-9390 Dunaújváros H-2400 Vasmű út 10/a • /fax: (+36 25)500-148, (+36 25)500-149 • [email protected] Budapest H-1062 Nyugati Pályaudvar • (+36 1)302-8580 • Fax: (+36 1)473-1436 Enying H-8130 Kossuth u. 29. • (+36 22)372-952, • /fax: (+36 22)572-072 • [email protected] Budapest* H-1052 Városház u. 7. • (+36 1)428-0377, (+36 1)428-0375 • Fax: (+36 1)353-2956 • [email protected] Gárdony H-2483 Szabadság út 16. • (+36 22)570-078 • /fax: (+36 22)570-077 • [email protected] Cegléd H-2700 Kossuth tér 1. • (+36 53)500-285 • Fax: (+36 53)500-286 • [email protected] Komárom H-2900 Igmándi út 2. • (+36 34)540-590 • /fax: (+36 34)540-591 • [email protected] Gödöllő H-2100 Gödöllői Királyi Kastély • /fax: (+36 28)415-402, (+36 28)419-231 • [email protected] Pákozd** H-8095 Budai út 134. • (+36 22)732-002 • Fax: (+36 22)458-722 • [email protected] Ócsa H-2364 Bajcsy-Zsilinszky utca 2. • (+36 29)578-750 • /fax: (+36 29)578-751 • [email protected] Pápa H-8500 Fő u. 5. • /fax: (+36 89)311-535 • [email protected] Ráckeve H-2300 Kossuth L. u. 51. • /fax: (+36 24)429-747 • [email protected] Sümeg H-8330 Kossuth L. utca 15. • (+36 87)550-276 • /fax: (+36 87)550-275 • [email protected] Rétság** H-2651 Rákóczi út 26. • (+36 35)550-155, (+36 35)550-036 • Fax: (+36 35)550-156 • [email protected] Székesfehérvár* H-8000 Piac tér 12-14. • (+36 22)312-818 • Fax: (+36 22)502-772 • [email protected] Szentendre H-2000 Dumtsa Jenő u. 22. • /fax: (+36 26)317-965, (+36 26)317-966 • [email protected] Székesfehérvár H-8000 Városház tér 1. • (+36 22)537-261 • /Fax: (+36 22)340-330 Vác H-2600 Március 15. tér 17. • (+36 27)316-160 • Fax: (+36 27)316-464 • [email protected] [email protected] Veresegyház H-2112 Fő út 35. • (+36 28)558-035 • /fax: (+36 28)558-036 • [email protected] Tata H-2890 Ady Endre u. 9. Pf.: 218 • /fax: (+36 34)586-045, (+36 34)586-046 • [email protected] Zsámbék H-2072 Etyeki u. 2. • /fax: (+36 23)342-318 • [email protected] Veszprém* H-8200 Megyeház tér 1. • (+36 88)545-045, (+36 88)545-047, (+36 88)545-048, (+36 88)545-049 NORTHERN HUNGARY Fax: (+36 88)545-039 • [email protected] Abaújszántó H-3881 Szent István tér 4. • /fax: (+36 47)330-053 • [email protected] Veszprém H-8200 Vár u. 4. • /fax: (+36 88)404-548 • [email protected] Aggtelek H-3759 Baradla oldal 3. • (+36 48)503-001 • Fax: (+36 48)503-002 • [email protected] Zirc H-8420 József A. u. 1. • /fax: (+36 88)593-810 • [email protected] Balassagyarmat H-2660 Köztársaság tér 6. • (+36 35)500-640 • Fax: (+36 35)500-641 • [email protected] LAKE BALATON Bátonyterenye H-3070 Molnár S. u. 1-3. • (+36 32)553-320/38, (+36 32)355-551/38 • [email protected] Alsóörs** H-8226 Strand sétány 1. • /fax: (+36 87)575-000 • [email protected] Dédestapolcsány H-3643 Petőfi u. 21. • /fax: (+36 48)501-037 Badacsonytomaj H-8261 Park utca 6. • (+36 87)531-013 • /fax: (+36 87)431-046 • [email protected] H-3643 Petőfi u. 24. • /fax: (+36 48)501-037 (05.15-09.30) • [email protected] Balatonalmádi H-8220 Városháza tér 4. • (+36 88)594-081 • /fax: (+36 88)594-080 • [email protected] Edelény H-3780 Borsodi út 7. • /fax: (+36 48)342-999 • [email protected] Balatonboglár H-8630 Erzsébet u. 12-14. • /fax: (+36 85)550-168 • [email protected] Eger H-3300 Bajcsy-Zsilinszky utca 9. Pf: 263. • (+36 36)517-715 • Fax: (+36 36)518-815 • [email protected] Balatonföldvár H-8623 Széchenyi Imre utca 2. • /fax: (+36 84)540-220 (06.15 - 09.15) Encs H-3860 Petőfi utca 20 –22. • (+36 46)587-389 • /fax: (+36 46)587-390 • [email protected] H-8623 Kőröshegyi út 1. • /fax: (+36 84)540-220 • [email protected] Gyöngyös H-3200 Fő tér 10. • /fax: (+36 37)311-155 • [email protected] Balatonfüred H-8230 Petőfi u. 68. • (+36 87)580-480 • Fax: (+36 87)580-481 • [email protected] Hollókő H-3176 Kossuth utca 68. • (+36 32)579-011 • /fax: (+36 32)579-010 • [email protected] Balatonkenese H-8174 Táncsics Mihály u. 24. • /fax: (+36 88)594-645 • [email protected] Kazár H-3127 Diófa út 13. • (+36 32)341-360 • Fax: (+36 32)341-363 • [email protected] Balatonvilágos H-8171 Aligai út. 1. • /fax: (+36 88)446-034 • [email protected] Mezőkövesd H-3400 Szent László tér 23. • (+36 49)500-285 • Fax: (+36 49)500-286 • [email protected] Buzsák H-8695 Fő tér 1/a • (+36 85)530-070 • [email protected] Miskolc* H-3525 Selyemrét u. 1. • /fax: (+36 46)508-773 • [email protected] Fonyód H-8640 Vigadó tér 1. (Hajóállomás) • /fax: (+36 85)560-313 • [email protected] Miskolc H-3525 Városház tér 13. • (+36 46)350-425 • /fax: (+36 46)350-439, (+36 46)348-921 Gyenesdiás H-8315 Kossuth Lajos u. 97. • /fax: (+36 83)511-790 • [email protected] [email protected] Keszthely H-8360 Kossuth L. u. 28. • /fax: (+36 83)314-144 • (+36 83)511-660 • [email protected] Salgótarján H-3100 Fő tér 5. • (+36 32)512-315 • /Fax: (+36 32)512-316 • [email protected] Révfülöp H-8253 Villa Filip tér 8/b • (+36 87)463-194 • /fax: (+36 87)463-092 • [email protected] Sárospatak H-3950 Eötvös u. 6. • (+36 47)315-316 • /fax: (+36 47)511-441 • [email protected] Siófok H-8600 Víztorony, Pf.:75. • /fax: (+36 84)315-355, (+36 84)310-117 • [email protected] Sátoraljaújhely H-3980 Kossuth tér 5. • /fax: (+36 47)321-458 • [email protected] Tapolca H-8300 Fő tér 17. • (+36 87)510-777 • Fax: (+36 87)510-778 • [email protected] Szécsény H-3170 Ady E. út 4. • /Fax: (+36 32)370-777 • [email protected] Tihany H-8237 Kossuth u. 20. • (+36 87)538-104 • /fax: (+36 87)448-804 • [email protected] Tokaj H-3910 Serház u 1. • (+36 47)552-070 • /fax: (+36 47)352-259 • [email protected] Vonyarcvashegy** H-8314 Kossuth u. 42. • (+36 83)348-253 • Fax: (+36 83)548-021 • [email protected] NORTHERN GREAT PLAIN Zalakaros H-8749 Gyógyfürdő tér 10. • /fax: (+36 93)340-421 • [email protected] Debrecen* H-4026 Kálvin tér 2/A. • (+36 52)534-544 • Fax: (+36 52)534-545 • [email protected] Zamárdi H-8621 Kossuth u. 16. • (+36 84)345-291 • /fax: (+36 84)345-290 • [email protected] Debrecen H-4024 Piac u. 20. • (+36 52)412-250, (+36 52)316-419 • Fax: (+36 52)535-323 • [email protected] SOUTHERN TRANSDANUBIA Hajdúböszörmény H-4220 Kálvin tér 6. • /fax: (+36 52)561-851 • (+36 52)561-852 Bóly H-7754 Erzsébet tér 1. • /fax: (+36 69)368-100 • [email protected] [email protected] Dombóvár H-7200 Hunyadi tér 22/b. • /fax: (+36 74)466-053 • [email protected] Hajdúnánás H-4080 Fürdő u. 7. • (+36 52)702-223 • Fax: (+36 52)382-076 (06.15. – 08.31.) Dunaföldvár H-7020 Rákóczi u. 2. • (+36 75)541-085• /fax: (+36 75)341-176 • [email protected] H-4080 Köztársaság tér 6. • /fax: (+36 52)382-076 • [email protected] Harkány H-7815 Kossuth u. 2/a • (+36 72)479-624 • Fax: (+36 72)479-989 • [email protected] Hajdúszoboszló H-4200 Szent István park 1-3. • (+36 52)558-928 • /fax: (+36 52)558-929 • [email protected] Kaposvár* H-7400 Csokonai u. 3. • (+36 82)508-151 • /fax: (+36 82)317-133 • [email protected] Hortobágy H-4071 Petőfi tér 13. • /fax: (+36 52)589-321 • [email protected] Kaposvár H-7400 Fő u. 8. • (+36 82)512-921, (+36 82)512-922 • Fax: (+36 82)320-404 • [email protected] Jászapáti H-5130 Tompa M. u. 2. • /fax: (+36 57)441-008 • [email protected] Kárász H-7333 Petőfi u. 36. • /fax: (+36 72)420-074 • [email protected] Jászberény H-5100 Lehel vezér tér 33. • /fax: (+36 57)406-439, • (+36 57)411-976/16 • [email protected] Magyarhertelend H-7394 Kossuth L. u. 46. • (+36 72)521-002 • /fax: (+36 72)521-001 Kisújszállás** H-5310 Rákóczi u. 3/a • (+36 59)321-452 • Fax: (+36 59)520-229 • [email protected] [email protected] Mezőtúr H-5400 Szabadság tér 17. • (+36 56)550-637 • /fax: (+36 56)350-901 • [email protected] Mohács H-7700 Széchenyi tér 1. • (+36 69)505-515, (+36 69)510-113 • Fax: (+36 69)505-504 • [email protected] Nyíracsád H-4262 Petőfi tér 3. • /fax: (+36 52)207-271 • [email protected] Nagyatád H-7500 Baross G. u. 2. • (+36 82)553-012 • Fax: (+36 82)553-013 • [email protected] Nyíregyháza H-4400 Országzászló tér 6. • /fax: (+36 42)504-647, (+36 42)504-648 • [email protected] Orfű H-7677 Széchenyi tér 1-3. • (+36 72)598-116, • /fax: (+36 72)498-282 • [email protected] Sóstógyógyfürdő** H-4431 Nyíregyháza Sóstógyógyfürdő, Víztorony, • /fax: (+36 42)411-193 • [email protected] Paks H-7030 Dózsa György út 20. • (+36 75)421-575 • Fax: (+36 75)510-265 • [email protected] Szolnok H-5000 Ságvári krt. 4. • (+36 56)420-704 • Fax: (+36 56)341-441 • [email protected] Pécs H-7621 Széchenyi tér 9. • (+36 72)213-315, (+36 72)511-232 • /Fax: (+36 72)212-632 • baranya- Vásárosnamény H-4800 Szabadság tér 33. • (+36 45)570-206 • Fax: (+36 45)570-207 • [email protected] [email protected] LAKE TISZA Pécsvárad H-7720 Kossuth L. u. 31. • /fax: (+36 72)466-487 • [email protected] Abádszalók H-5241 Füzes Kemping, Strand út 2. • (+36 59)535-346 • Fax: (+36 59)535-345 (05. 01-10. 30.) Siklós H-7800 Felszabadulás u. 3. • (+36 72)579-090 • Fax: (+36 72)579-091 • [email protected] H-5241 Deák Ferenc u. 1/17. • (+36 59)535-346 • /fax: (+36 59)357-376 • [email protected] Szekszárd H-7100 Garay tér 18. • (+36 74)511-263 • /fax: (+36 74)511-264 • [email protected] Berekfürdő** H-5309 Berek tér 11. • (+36 59)319-408 • Fax: (+36 59)519-007 • [email protected] Szekszárd* H-7100 Széchenyi u. 22. • /fax: (+36 74)418-907, (+36 74)412-082 • [email protected] Karcag** H-5300 Dózsa György u. 5-7. • (+36 59)503-224 • /fax: (+36 59)503-225 • [email protected] Tamási H-7090 Szabadság u. 52. • /fax: (+36 74)470-902 • [email protected] Kisköre H-3384 Kossuth L. utca 8. • /fax: (+36 36)358-023 • [email protected] WESTERN TRANSDANUBIA Nagykörű** H-5065 Kossuth tér 1. • /fax: (+36 56)494-822 • [email protected] Bük H-9737 Eötvös u. 11. • (+36 94)558-419, (+36 94)558-439 • Fax: (+36 94)359-322 • [email protected] Polgár H-4090 Hősök útja 10. • (+36 52)573-063 • Fax: (+36 52)237-498 • [email protected] Celldömölk H-9500 Sport u. 8. • /fax: (+36 95)423-940 • [email protected] Tiszacsege H-4066 Fő u. 38. • /fax: (+36 52)588-036, (+36 52)588-037 • [email protected] Fertőd H-9431 J. Haydn u. 3. • (+36 99)370-182 • /fax: (+36 99)370-544 • [email protected] Tiszafüred H-5350 Fürdő u. 21. • /fax: (+36 59)511-123, (+36 59)511-124 • [email protected] Fertőszéplak** H-9436 Nagy Lajos u. 43. • (+36 99)537-140 • Fax: (+36 99)537-141 • [email protected] Tiszaújváros H-3580 Széchenyi út 27. • (+36 49)540-238, (+36 49)540-239 • Fax: (+36 49)540-122 Győr* H-9021 Árpád u. 32. • (+36 96)522-255 • Fax: (+36 96)522-224 • [email protected] [email protected] Győr H-9021 Árpád u. 32. • (+36 96)336-817 • /fax: (+36 96)311-771 • [email protected] SOUTHERN GREAT PLAIN Kőszeg H-9730 Jurisics tér 7. • (+36 94)563-120 • /fax: (+36 94)563-121 • [email protected] Baja H-6500 Szentháromság tér 5. • (+36 79)420-793 • /fax: (+36 79)420-792 • [email protected] Lenti H-8960 Táncsics M. u. 2/A. • (+36 92)551-188 • Fax: (+36 92)551-189 • [email protected] Békéscsaba H-5600 Szent István tér 9. • /fax: (+36 66)441-261 • [email protected] Mosonmagyaróvár H-9200 Kápolna tér 16. • /fax: (+36 96)206-304 • [email protected] Csongrád H-6640 Szentháromság tér 8. • /fax: (+36 63)570-325 • [email protected] Nagykanizsa H-8800 Csengery u. 1-3. • (+36 93)313-285 • Fax: (+36 93)536-077 • [email protected] Gyomaendrőd H-5500 Erzsébet liget 2. • (+36 66)386-851 • Fax: (+36 66)386-851 • [email protected] Őrség H-9941 Őriszentpéter, Siskaszer 26/A • (+36 94)548-034 • Fax: (+36 94)428-791 • [email protected] Gyula H-5700 Kossuth L. u. 7. • (+36 66)561-681 • /fax: (+36 66)561-680 • [email protected] Pannonhalma H-9090 Petőfi u. 25. • /fax: (+36 96)471-733 • [email protected] Hódmezővásárhely H-6800 Szőnyi u. 1. • (+36 62)249-350 • Fax: (+36 62)530-132 • [email protected] Sárvár H-9600 Várkerület 33. • (+36 95)520-178 • Fax: (+36 95)520-179 • [email protected] Kecskemét H-6000 Kossuth tér 1. • /fax: (+36 76)481-065 • [email protected] Sopron H-9400 Liszt Ferenc u. 1. • (+36 99)517-560, (+36 99)517-561 • Fax: (+36 99)517-527 • [email protected] Kiskőrös H-6200 Petőfi tér 4/a. • /fax: (+36 78)514-850 • Fax: (+36 78)514-851 • [email protected] Szombathely H-9700 Kossuth Lajos u. 1-3. • (+36 94)514-451 • Fax: (+36 94)514-450 • [email protected] Kiskunfélegyháza H-6100 Szent János tér 2. • (+36 76)561-421 • Fax: (+36 76)561-414 • [email protected] Zalaegerszeg H-8900 Széchenyi tér 4-6. Pf: 506 • (+36 92)316-160, (+36 92)510-696 • Fax: (+36 92)510-697 Kiskunmajsa H-6120 Zárda u. 2. • /fax: (+36 77)481-327 • [email protected] [email protected] Kistelek H-6760 Kossuth u. 5-7. • (+36 62)597-420, • /Fax: (+36 62)597-421 • [email protected] Kunszentmiklós H-6090 Kossuth u. 7. • /Fax: (+36 76)352-156 • [email protected] * Information available via mail or phone. Makó H-6900 Széchenyi tér 8. • /fax: (+36 62)210-708 • [email protected] ** Opening times: 15 June – 30 August. Mórahalom H-6782 Röszkei u. 1. • /fax: (+36 62)280-294 • [email protected] Ópusztaszer H-6767 Szoborkert 68. • (+36 62)275-133/121m • Fax: (+36 62)275-007 • [email protected] Orosháza H-5904 Fasor u. 2/a. • /fax: (+36 68)414-422 • [email protected] Pusztamérges H-6785 Móra tér 4. • /fax: (+36 62)286-702 • [email protected] Ruzsa H-6786 Alkotmány tér 2. • /fax: (+36 62)585-210 • [email protected] Szarvas H-5540 Kossuth tér 3. • /fax: (+36 66)311-140 • [email protected] Szeged* H-6722 Tábor u. 7/b. • (+36 62)548-092 • Fax: (+36 62)548-093 • [email protected] Szeged H-6720 Dugonics tér 2. • /fax: (+36 62)488-690 • (+36 62)488-699 • [email protected] Tourism Szeghalom H-5520 Szabadság tér 4-8. • /fax: (+36 66)470-395 • [email protected] in Hungary Tótkomlós H-5940 Kossuth u. 2. • /fax: (+36 68)462-908 • [email protected] 2005 68 Foreign Network

AUSTRIA – GERMANY – SWITZERLAND REGION NORTHERN EUROPE

AUSTRIA DENMARK Ungarisches Tourismusamt Ungarn Turistkontor, Information Office A-1010 Wien, Opernring 1/R/707. 1620 Copenhagen V., Vesterbrogade 6.D.1. Sal Tel.: (800) 36 00 00 00 Fax: (43 1) 585 20 1221 Tel.: (45 39) 161 350 Fax: (45 39) 161 355 E-mail: [email protected] www.ungarn-tourismus.at E-mail: [email protected] www.ungarn.dk

GERMANY SWEDEN Ungarisches Tourismusamt Regionalbüro Nord/Ost Ungerska Turistbyran I Norden D-10117 Berlin, Wilhelm Str. 61 BOX 16288, SE-10325 Stockholm Tel.: (49 30) 243 146 11 Fax: (49 30) 243 146 13 Tel.: (46 8) 20 40 40 Fax: (46 8) 611 7647 E-mail: [email protected] www.ungarn-tourismus.de E-mail: [email protected] www.ungernturism.org; www.ungarnturisme.com Ungarisches Tourismusamt Regionalbüro Süd (München) Tel.: (800) 36 00 00 00 POLAND www.ungarn-tourismus.de Magyar Turizmus Zrt. Prezdstawicielstwo 00-726 Warszawa 36, skr. Pocztowa nr. 15 Ungarisches Tourismusamt Regionalbüro Mitte/West Tel.: (48 22) 856 5055 Fax: (48 22) 848 3308 D-60528 Frankfurt am Main, Lyoner Strasse 44-48 E-mail: [email protected] www.wegry.info.pl Tel.: (800) 36 00 00 00 Fax: (49 69) 9288 4613 E-mail:[email protected] www.ungarn-tourismus.de ROMANIA Consulatul General al Republicii Ungare, Sectia Turism SWITZERLAND 3400 Cluj-Napoca, C.P. 352 Ungarisches Tourismusamt Tel./Fax: (40 264) 440 547 E-mail: [email protected] Minervastrasse 149. / Hegibachplatz 8032 Zürich www.hungarytourism.ro Tel.: (41) 43 818 5113 Fax: (41) 43 818 5114 E-mail: [email protected] www.ungarn-tourismus.ch RUSSIA www.hongrie-tourisme.ch Buro Torgovogo sovetnika po turizmu Vengerskoj Respubliki 123242 Moscow, Krasznaja Presznya ul. 1-7 BELGIUM Tel.: (74 95) 363 3962/3241 Fax: (74 95) 363 3963 Office du Tourisme de Hongrie(Hongaars Verkeersbureau) E-mail: [email protected] www.hungary.ru B-1050 Bruxelles, Avenue Louise 365 (B-1050 Brussel, 365 Loizalaan) SLOVAKIA Tel.: (32 2) 346 8630, 648 5282 Fax: (32 2) 344 6967 Vel’vyslanectvo Mad’arskej republiky Obchodná kancelária E-mail: [email protected] www.visithongrie.be www.visithongarije.be 811 06 Bratislava, Palisády 40 Tel.: (421 2) 544 33 580 Fax: (421 2) 544 16 366 CHINA E-mail: [email protected] www.hungarytourism.sk; The Commercial Office of the Hungarian Embassy www.madarsko.sk 100600 Beijing, Tayuan Diplomatic Compound 3-1-41 SPAIN Tel.: (86 10) 6532 3845, 6532 3182 Fax: (86 10) 6532 5131 Oficina Nacional de Turismo de Hungría E-mail: [email protected] www.xiongyali.cn 28020 Madrid, Avenida de Brasil 17. piso 10, puerta B THE CZECH REPUBLIC Tel.: (34 91) 556 9348 Fax: (34 91) 556 9869 Madarská Turistika E-mail: [email protected] www.hungriaturismo.com 17006 Praha 7, M. Horákové 81, P.O.Box 552 Tel.: (420 283) 870 742 Fax: (420 283) 870 743 UCRAINE E-mail: [email protected] www.madarsko.cz Komercijnij Viddil Posolstva Ugorskoji Respubliki Informacijne Bjuro ‘Ugorshina-Turizm’ FRANCE 01034 Kijev, vul. Striletska 16. Office du Tourisme de Hongrie Tel./Fax (380 44) 278 0811, 494 1900 75116 Paris, 140 avenue Victor Hugo E-mail: [email protected] www.ugor.kiev.ua Tel.: (33 1) 5370 6717, 5370 6718 Fax: (33 1) 4704 8357 E-mail: [email protected] www.hongrietourisme.com UNITED KINGDOM Hungarian National Tourist Office IRELAND SW1X 8 AL London, 46 Eaton Place Hungarian National Tourist Office Tel.: (800) 36 00 00 00 Fax: (44 207) 823 1459 Tel.: (800) 36 00 00 00 E-mail: [email protected] www.gotohungary.co.uk E-mail: [email protected] www.visithungary.ie UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ITALY Hungarian National Tourist Office Ufficio Turistico Ungherese N.Y. 10118 New York, 20145 Milano, Via Alberto Da Giussano 1. 350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 7107 Tel.: (39 02) 4819 5434 Fax: (39 02) 4801 0268 Tel.: (1 212) 695-1221 Fax: (1 212) 695-0809 E-mail: [email protected] www.turismoungherese.it E-mail: [email protected] www.gotohungary.com

JAPAN Hungarian National Tourist Office 106-0031 Tokyo, Minato-ku, Nishiazabu 4-16-13, 28 Mori Building 11F Tel.: (81 3) 3499 4953 Fax: (81 3) 3499 4944 E-mail: [email protected] www.hungarytabi.jp

THE NETHERLANDS Published by the Hungarian National Tourist Office Hongaars Verkeersbureau H-1012 Budapest, Vérmezõ út 4., Hungary 2593 BS Den Haag, Laan van Nieuw Oost Indie 271 Design and DTP by VIVA Média Holding Tel.: (31 70) 320 9092 Fax: (31 70) 327 2833 Photo by the Hungarian National Tourist Office E-mail: [email protected] www.hungarytourism.nl For more information visit www.hungary.com >Travel Trade Pages

Tourism in Hungary 2005 69