Budapest Zoo to increase ticket prices

Budapest Zoo, one of the Hungarian capital’s most famous tourist attractions, will raise entrance fees due to inflation and the worsening energy crisis. The increased revenue is aimed at improving services, Anett Bősz, the deputy mayor of Budapest, told Népszava.

24.hu summed up the interview and noted that Mrs Bősz called the ticket price increase inevitable. She added that the costs would not skyrocket just to reach the price level of the municipal zoos. However, she did not share the new prices.

Mrs Bősz revealed that Budapest would keep the Biodome, but they wait for the government to finish the project. The Biodome was the idea of Miklós Persányi, the former director of the Budapest Zoo and István Tarlós, the previous mayor of Budapest. The construction started in 2018 and should have been completed by 2021. But the project’s costs went over the roof, Persányi resigned, Tarlós lost the 2019 elections and the government closed the money taps.

As a result, the Budapest Zoo has a grande building designed to host exotic species, but the municipal government doesn’t have the money to provide necessary tempered heating. Consequently, the unfinished building began to deteriorate. The project failed due to reckless planning and political reasons. According to the leadership of Budapest, the Biodome construction needs HUF 45 billion (almost EUR 120 million) and at least 2-3 years of work to get back on track.

Here is a video of the illustrious yet unfinished building: