Hungarian tourism sees rise in leisure travellers

Budapest, July 28 (MTI) – The proportion of “budget” leisure travellers among foreign visitors in Hungary has increased by more than 10 percentage points between 2008 and 2015, business daily Világgazdaság said on Thursday citing a study by the Association of Hungarian Hotels and Restaurants (MSZÉSZ).

The study reveals that in 2008 business travellers made up 15.9 percent of Hungary’s foreign visitors while 84.1 percent of them were leisure travellers. By 2015, the number of business travellers decreased by 28.2 percent, making up just 5.6 percent of foreign visitors that year. The number of leisure travellers grew by 80.2 percent during the period.

The structural changes have also affected hotel demand: overall guest nights spent by foreign visitors grew by 45 percent between 2010 and 2015 but guest nights in cheaper guest houses and hostels increased by 725 percent.

Cheap flights offered by low-fare airlines played a major role in attracting budget travellers to Hungary, the study said.

Source: MTI