Collaboration saves Hungary’s famous cave bath
The economic crisis in Hungary keeps taking its victims. The newest one is the cave bath in Miskolctapolca, one of the most famous baths in the country. Because of the rising energy prices, it was decided to close the facility after 10 October. However, with a collaborative effort by the municipality and local businesses, the cave bath might be saved from closing and can remain open at least until the beginning of next year.
Trendfm.hu reported that in the regional capital of Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, the cave bath is in danger. With a collaborative effort of the municipality and local businesses, who have a stake in tourism, could provide enough funds to keep the bath running, said Eszter Orosz manager of the MIDMAR Kft. It is in everybody’s interest to keep the bath open for the winter. It is a very important tourist attraction. Without it, Miskolc’s tourism could suffer a major decline.
The goal is to provide enough funds with collaborative effort for the bath so it can reopen as soon as possible.
Hope
The added cost due to the rising energy prices is around HUF 66 million (EUR 160,000). This amount of money is required to keep the bath running during the winter. As the closing of the bath also has its own costs, the municipality already has to pay HUF 166 million (EUR 401,800). The indefinite closing of the bath is a huge blow to the city. Because of this, it would be more beneficial to keep it running despite the higher costs.
The upkeep costs of the bath are paid by the municipality. Despite the closure, there are still upkeep costs to be paid. As interest is common for every actor in the situation it seems like everybody is willing to cooperate. Compared to the city’s approximately HUF 20 billion (EUR 5 million) in added costs, the funds needed for the bath are minimal. Still, cooperation is needed for the restart of the operations. Of course, the bath would not be running at full capacity. Rather, it would only be partially open, while the services would be running at a decreased capacity.
Although the closure of the bath is not an isolated case, such a collaborative effort to save it is quite rare. Hopefully, the negotiations will be successful and the cave bath can keep running.
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Source: Trendfm.hu