Hotels in Budapest filling with visitors of FINA World Championships

Rooms are running out for the Championships. Occupancy of hotels in Budapest doubled for July compared to last year, states Magyar Idők.

Hotels in Budapest receive many bookings for the time of the FINA water sport world cup: accommodation will be 25-30 percent more expensive than in the main season.

During the season of city visits, Budapest’s tourist commerce is going favorably: the traffic of hotels exceeded last year’s data in March and April, and it seems to continue in May as well.

Less than two and a half months are left until the water sports world championship, for which the room bookings from abroad have already began: interested people seek 4-5 star hotels depending on their financial status, but houses and alternative types of accommodations are also popular during this period, as Tamás Flesch told Magyar Idők.

Several hundred thousand visitors are expected during the championship

The vice president of the Association of Hungarian Hotels and Restaurants said that there are still free accommodations in Budapest from the middle of July. Average room prices are 25-30 percent higher than in a usual summer season due to the international championship.

It might seem more expensive for travelers than the usual prices in Budapest, but they should consider that in comparison to the region, we are still under the average prices of Vienna, said the vice president, stating that hotels need to raise prices in order to be effective parts of the salary improvement, which hinders the most critical problem in the branch: the moving of workforce.

As he claimed, currently half of the rooms in Budapest are booked for the more than two week-long water sports world cup, and they are already full for the day of the Formula One Grand Prix.

“In July and August, tourist traffic is quite heavy in Budapest anyway, and it is significantly enhanced by the upcoming sporting events,” said the associate representative. He told that this year will be determined by sporting events: Along with Budapest, Győr and its surroundings can expect heavy traffic during the European Youth Olympic Festival at the end of July, and also during the judo world championship in August.

“According to our most recent data, the number of bookings in Budapest has already doubled for between 14th and 30th July compared to last year,” told marketing manager of Szallas.hu Judit Drávai-Mészáros said that there are still accommodations left for the time of the FINA world cup in Budapest and near the venues of the competition, as the hotels haven’t shut down the booking opportunities yet.

She added that there is great interest for the water sports world cup in Balatonfüred. According to the most recent records of Szallas.hu, it is the fourth among the ten most visited Hungarian cities; the number of bookings has increased by roughly 38 percent compared to last July.

“There are also free rooms left in Balatonfüred for the time of the world cup, 75 percent of the local capacity is still unoccupied,” noted Judit Drávai-Mészáros.
The water sports world cup in summer is the third greatest sporting event after the olympics and the FIFA World Cup, and the host FINA is expecting 700,000 visitors for the masters contests following it in August.

Financial manager of water sporting world cup and government commissioner Balázs Fürjes noted that several hundred thousand people are expected for the championship, but the accommodation capacity of Budapest can handle the pressure.

Ce: bm

Source: Magyaridok.hu