Last year, the international turnover of the tourist areas of 2.8 million exceeded the 2019 value by 3 percent, while the 19.3 million domestic nights practically repeated it, the Hungarian Tourism Agency (MTÜ) summarized in its statement.
After Lake Balaton, Mátra-Bükk, the Budapest area, Debrecen and its surroundings, and Tokaj and Nyíregyháza were the most popular areas among the locals. According to the data of the National Tourist Information Center (NTAK), Zánká, Visegrád and Zalakaros received the most guests compared to the total population, they added.
81 percent of the 27.3 million rural guest nights registered in 2023 were spent in the 11 tourist areas. The three most popular areas: Lake Balaton, Mátra-Bükk and the Budapest area account for more than half of the accommodation traffic outside the capital. Most of the income of rural accommodation is also generated in the same areas, MTÜ stated.
Compared to 2022, the largest increase in guests and guest nights was recorded in the Győr-Pannonhalma area. Compared to 2019, however, the largest increase in the number of guests, over 16 percent, was measured in the Tokaj and Nyíregyháza area, and the number of guest nights increased the most at the accommodations around Budapest, by nearly 10 percent.
The growing desire to travel among foreign visitors has had its effect in the countryside as well. After Lake Balaton, foreign guests spent the most guest nights in Debrecen and its region, as well as in the Bük-Sárvár region. In our largest rural holiday region, the Czechs and Germans were the most, while in our most popular mountain destination, the Poles and Slovaks were the most.
After the Hungarian sea, most domestic guests chose the accommodation of Mátra-Bükk, the Budapest area, Debrecen and its surroundings, and Tokaj and Nyíregyháza. Among them, the favorites of the citizens of the capital were Lake Balaton, Mátra-Bükk, and Budapest and its surroundings, where they preferred to stay at hotels in Siófok, Eger and Visegrád.
Almost a fifth of the rural accommodation traffic, more than 5 million guest nights, was realized in settlements outside tourist areas. Among them, Kecskemét, which has significant business tourism, had the most guest nights, a quarter of a million, in 2023, and the city of Szarvas boasted the largest increase in traffic (+15 percent), according to the MTÜ’s summary.
Based on the NTAK data, in proportion to the population, based on the settlement’s annual visitor traffic, the most guests visited Zánka, Visegrád and Zalakaros. The top attractions of the five most popular regions according to one-day visits were the Váci main square, the Aranypart free beach in Siófok, the Sóstó spa in Nyíregyháza, the Hungarospa Spa in Hajdúszoboszló, and the Egri basilica – the MTÜ listed.
