Travel Exhibition 2024 in Budapest: we visited – until Sunday, you can too! – PHOTO GALLERY

Visitors interested in tourism, boats, motorhomes and electric bicycles are also welcome at the Travel Exhibition in Budapest at the Hungexpo Budapest Congress and Exhibition Centre. We took part in the ‘professional day’ to see what they have to offer the general public this weekend (23-25 February).

This year, the focus of the 46th Travel Trade Fair and 32nd Budapest Boat Show will be on active and adventure tourism, which will be presented in a renewed format and content this year. The Travel+Exhibition will include the Budapest Boat Show, the Caravan Salon and the E-bike Test&Show. With 23 domestic and 28 foreign destinations offering their travels at stand-alone stands, nearly 150 exhibitors are waiting for visitors at Hungexpo. As usual, the first day and a half of the event is dedicated to the professional audience, with tourism conferences and round-table discussions alongside business meetings.

Foreign pavilions

Bulgaria is this year’s guest of honour

Bulgaria is the foreign guest of honour at the exhibition. Mariela Modeva, advisor to the Bulgarian Ministry of Tourism, graced the event with her presence. In her speech, she said that Bulgaria will partially join the Schengen area (air and maritime traffic) in March and that this is expected to give a big boost to tourism. She stressed,

Bulgaria is not only worth visiting for its beaches, but also for its excellent cultural programmes, with some 40,000 historical monuments (7 of which are on the UNESCO World Heritage List), 36 cultural reserves, 160 monasteries and some 330 museums and galleries.

Christo Polendakov, Bulgaria’s Ambassador to Hungary, said it was a great opportunity to be the guest of honour at such an event and hoped that the travel agencies in their pavilion would be able to introduce more Hungarian travellers to the beauty of the Bulgarian coast. He stressed that Bulgarians welcome Hungarians and that it is worth trying Bulgarian hospitality.

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Near and far destinations abroad

In addition to Bulgaria, many other countries were represented, such as the tourist offices of neighbouring Slovakia, Slovenia and Serbia, which were also present in large numbers, but also tourist destinations in far-off countries such as Peru, where Ambassador Edgard Pérez naturally highlighted Machu Pichu as the most famous attraction in the South American country.

He said that Lima is home to two of the six best restaurants in the world, so it could be a great experience for gastronomy lovers. Indonesia was also represented by two travel agencies, organised by the embassy and ITPC Budapest, so we were able to learn more about Bali and other Indonesian attractions. Georgia, Tunisia, Japan and South Africa were also present, but Italy and Greece were among the classic Hungarian tourist destinations represented by several exhibitors.

Domestic pavilions

The domestic guest of honour is Gyula and the county of Békés. Ernő Görgényi, mayor of Gyula, said that they would focus on active tourism, presenting, among other things, hiking and cycling trails, the castles of the county, the countryside of the Körös and the deltas, and natural values.

On the stand, which covers an area of around 100 square metres, visitors will be able to discover the county’s unique thermal waters and its rich cultural and gastronomic offer, including the Gyula pálinka festival and the Csaba sausage festival. Organised by the Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BKIK), tourism businesses from 11 Hungarian regions will present their local attractions, products and services at a joint chamber stand. Several exhibitors have come from all over the country to showcase the beauties of Hegykő, Szentgotthárd and even Lake Tisza.

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Caravan Salon, Boat Show, E-bike

A traditionally popular and spectacular event of the exhibition is the Caravan Salon, where visitors can view and drive around the vehicles.

The Hungarian Sailing Association is traditionally the strategic partner of the Budapest Boat Show. This year, the organisers of the exhibition have invited the Hungarian Sailing Academy and its Sailing at Home programme to be the guest of honour at the boat show. This year is the year of the five Olympic Games, which is why Olympians, former top athletes and Olympic hopefuls will be given a special place.

The E-bike Test&Show, which debuted last year, was a great success. Thus, the organisers have built a test track of almost 3,000 square metres where visitors can try out the electric bikes on display.