Efforts will continue this year to help tourism regain its key industry status in Hungary, the deputy managing director of the Hungarian Tourism Agency said on Friday.
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László Könnyid said on Facebook that special attention would be placed this year on developing tourism services for expats and further improving the catering industry, religious tourism and health tourism.
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Considering that “the country was almost closed for half of 2021”, it was a huge success that tourism reached record high for the year, he added.
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Nearly 10 million guests spent 29 million guest nights in Hungarian accommodation services last year, representing a 20 percent and 25 percent increase,
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respectively, compared with the year before, he said. Revenues of commercial accommodations exceeded 360 billion forints (EUR 1bn) after a 22.5 percent increase last year and revenues of catering businesses grew by 36 percent to 970 billion forints, he added.
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Spending with SZÉP cards, a low-tax benefit that employers can give their employees, increased by over 55 percent last year compared to 2020, he said.
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Thanks to amendments to the tourism law last year, accommodation services are ranked in a standardised system now resulting in a more transparent and consumer friendly market, he said.
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Significant resources are being channeled to
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renovating thermal baths this year,
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while special attention will be placed on improving job quality in the sector, with better educational opportunities and career development, he added.
![winter budapest tram](https://contentf5.dailynewshungary.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/rsz_1tram-gdc78ee535_1280-350x197.jpg)
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Source: MTI
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