Hungary Welcomed 6.2 Million Tourists in the 3 Summer Months of 2023, Exceeding Pre-pandemic Levels

During this period, more than 17 million guest nights were registered, which is an increase of three per cent. As for revenues, Guller noted that there was also an increase of 27 per cent, reaching HUF 312 billion (€805 million), SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

As reported by AboutHungary, a website managed by the Hungarian Prime Minister’s international communication office, the market was essentially equally divided between foreign visitors and domestic travellers, with notable increases in tourists from the Czech Republic, Poland, and Romania.

Data show that in June-August of this year, about 2.6 million foreign tourists enjoyed 7.2 million guest nights in Hungary, while about 3.6 million domestic travellers spent 9.9 million nights in tourist accommodations. The capital hosted 1.5 million guests, generating a revenue of 110 billion forints. In August, the utilisation rate remained at around 78 per cent. According to the head of the Hungarian Hotel and Restaurant Association, Tamás Flesch, the hotel industry had successfully completed a profitable season.

Whereas, Guller also mentioned that bookings registered with the National Tourism Data Service Center (NTAK), which predicted guest nights to reach 3.4 million in September, three million in October, and 2.4 million in November. Previously, Hungarian authorities revealed that the total number of guest nights in the country showed an increase of four per cent, reaching a total of 12.2 million from January to May 2023.

Commenting on these data, the CEO of the Hungarian Tourism Agency, Péter Horváth, noted that the number of Italian visitors almost doubled from the beginning of the year to the end of May, while visitors from Israel and Poland increased by nearly 50 per cent. At the same time, visitors from Germany also saw an increase of one-third during this period.

He further said that he foresees a promising increase of ten to 15 per cent in the turnover of foreign visitors, both in the capital and throughout the country, for the whole of this year. As he explained, this increase is expected to bring the numbers to a range of 90-95 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, indicating a significant recovery in Hungary’s tourism industry.