Did foreign tourists disappear from Hungary?
The number of foreign tourists dropped by 70% compared to the numbers of 2019. However, the global situation was dire as well.
According to the World Tourism Barometer, international tourist arrivals in Europe decreased by 66% in the first half of 2020, and there was a 97% drop in the second half of the year. Africa saw a 57% drop in international tourism in the first half of 2020. In Asia and the Pacific, a 52% decline was seen in tourism, followed by a 99% drop in the second half of 2020. North-East Asia was hit by the pandemic the most, as the largest decrease, -83%, was recorded in the first half of 2020. “Most destinations in Asia and the Pacific recorded declines in international arrivals close to 100% in June and July,” shows the World Tourism Barometer.
Hungary’s statistics match the global standard as well.
According to KSH (Central Statistical Office), the number of guest nights increased by 10% compared to the numbers in July 2020 but decreased by 36% compared to the same month in 2019. Domestic tourism helped the situation, but the fact that foreign tourists are not coming to Hungary still means a major setback, wrote napi.hu.
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In the year before the pandemic, in the first seven months, 2,510,680 guests spent 5,800,890 guest nights in Budapest, while July was the busiest month of the year, with 1,002,248 nights.
These days, the number of domestic guests has increased by 5.3%, and the number of guest nights by 8.1%. The number of guests reached 802,000 and the number of guest nights reached 2.3 million. 59% of the nights were spent in hotels, where a 7.6% increase was registered. Boarding houses did not notice any change in the number of guests, while holiday settlements and camps saw a drop in the numbers. Communal accommodations saw an increase in traffic due to the restart of the summer camp season.
Lake Balaton was the most popular tourist region. One-third of domestic guest nights were registered there.
“The number of foreign guests increased by 29%, and the number of guest nights by 16%. The 218,000 guests arriving at accommodations spent a total of 571,000 guest nights. Most of the guests stayed in hotels, and the number of nights spent there increased by almost one-third compared to July 2020. The increase was the highest in the case of Budapest (almost double),” wrote napi.hu.
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Source: napi.hu, e-unwto.org
