European guests still driving force of Hungary tourism, says hotel association

Budapest, November 1 (MTI) – Although the number of guest nights spent by Chinese and Indian tourists in Hungary is on the rise, European guests remain the driving force of Hungary’s tourism sector, the head of the Association of Hungarian Hotels and Restaurants said on Sunday.

Akos Niklai told public news channel M1 that around 80 percent of Hungary’s tourists come from European countries.

Niklai said Budapest registered the second highest hotel occupancy rate in Europe in August, adding, however, that tourism in the countryside had not fared as well due to a drop in Russian and Ukrainian tourists. Niklai said the countryside’s weaker tourism numbers were also due to the government not devoting enough effort to promoting tourist destinations outside Budapest.

He said hotels in the countryside generally record bigger turnover figures over long weekends, adding that even then most guests choose to stay in wellness centres.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters