Half of the Hungarian spas might close because of the high prices

Some swimming pools already had to close because of the rising electricity and gas prices. According to the Hungarian Spa Association, it can affect half of the facilities in the country.

As the end of summer was approaching, many spas offered cheaper tickets than their usual seasonal passes. But the price of energy is increasing and the number of guests is falling. This can force about half of the Hungarian baths to close from autumn until the first half of the next year.

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The last two years were hard on everyone in tourism, including the spa industry. After the close-downs and restrictions caused by the pandemic, these businesses were just about to recover when the war broke out in Ukraine, resulting in skyrocketing energy prices.

People from countries east of Hungary are frequent visitors of our spas, and in the last months, the number of guests has decreased by 20-50 percent compared to expectations, said Zoltán Kántás, president of the Hungarian Spa Association. He said every facility that continued to operate in the same way as before took a huge risk because the prices were only going to get higher.