Compared to last year, domestic hotels hosted 22 percent more foreign travelers.

Compared to September 2022, nearly 10 percent more people discovered Hungary's landscapes in the first month of autumn. The number of guests of 1.4 million exceeded the pre-pandemic value by 2.4 percent, within which almost 11 percent more guests arrived in the Hungarian countryside compared to 2019, the Hungarian Tourism Agency (MTÜ) told MTI on Wednesday.

According to data from the National Tourist Information Center (NTAK), tourists spent 3.4 million nights in Hungary in September, which was almost 6 percent higher than at this time last year. Budapest and Lake Balaton were the most popular destinations, and Hévíz became the most visited settlement in the month of September among the rural settlements. The high season was also mentioned by the hotels' average capacity utilization of nearly 60 percent.

According to NTAK data, most of the traffic was realized in rural areas in September, as 2.2 million guest nights were registered in accommodations outside the capital. Thus, the first month of autumn resulted in stronger rural visitor traffic than last year's and 2019's data. In addition, almost 15 percent more domestic guests traveled than in 2019. Most of them were interested in the rural tourism offer, domestic visitors spent a total of 1.5 million nights in rural accommodation, which shows a 10 percent increase compared to the record year of 2019.

Compared to 2022, domestic hotels hosted 22 percent more foreign travelers. The international guests mainly came from neighboring and nearby countries, but Israeli, Dutch, British and Chinese tourists also rested in our countryside.

In September, foreign guests from 226 countries arrived in Hungary and spent 1.8 million nights in Hungary, 13 percent more than last year. In September, the five most important sending markets were: Germany, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Poland and the United States of America. The vast majority of them came to the capital, where the 1 million guest nights they spent exceeded the figure of a year ago by 17 percent.

Accommodations in the capital city of all four top sending countries experienced a significant expansion, German traffic by almost 20 percent, Czech by 15 percent, and Polish by 26 percent compared to a year ago. At the same time, the largest growth was measured in China and South Korea, where the number of guest nights increased by nearly four times and two times, respectively.

Lake Balaton welcomed many tourists in September as well, as the most popular tourist area, 19 percent of guests were registered here. This was followed by Mátra-Bükk, the Budapest area, and Debrecen and its area.

After Budapest, the ten settlements with the most guest nights were mainly spa towns: Hévíz, Hajdúszoboszló, Balatonfüred, Bük, Siófok, Zalakaros, Debrecen, Zánka, Szeged and Eger. Domestics preferred Balatonfüred, Zánka and Hajdúszoboszló, while foreigners chose Hévíz, Bük and Hajdúszoboszló.

Tourists preferred to relax in hotels, in September 49 percent of domestic guest nights and 56 percent of foreign guest nights were spent in hotels.

MTI

Featured image: mtu.gov.hu