Despite the increase in prices, more people travel within the country during the holidays than in recent years: the number of reservations for the Christmas period received by December 19 increased by 30 percent compared to the previous year, according to data from the Szallas.hu accommodation booking portal.
According to the statement sent to MTI on Tuesday, Budapest is the most popular settlement at Christmas, and Eger at New Year’s Eve and at the beginning of next year among guests booking on Szallas.hu.
The average price per person for one night is HUF 16,000, 23.5 percent more than last year and 45 percent more expensive than in 2019.
Half of those spending Christmas away from home chose wellness accommodation. 48 percent of the reservations are for hotels, 23 percent for apartments, 16 percent for guest houses, 10 percent for boarding houses, and 3 percent for other types of accommodation.
Budapest, Hévíz, Eger, Gyula, and Zalakaros are the most popular destinations so far, and Cserkeszőlő, Pécs, Siófok, Hajdúszoboszló, and Szeged also made it to the top 10 ranking list. Among the largest domestic tourist regions, Northern Hungary (20.55 percent), Lake Balaton (15.46 percent), and the Southern Great Plain (13.95 percent) receive the largest proportion of bookings at Christmas. In the northern Hungarian region, Eger, Miskolc, Szilvásvárad, Parádfürdő, Egerszalók, and Miskolctapolca are the most popular.
More people are also traveling for New Year’s Eve: the number of pre-bookings has more than doubled compared to last year, but compared to 2019, the increase is also 20 percent. Most people toast at midnight in Eger, Szeged, Pécs, Gyula, and Siófok.
Based on the data, the first two months of the new year also give a reason for confidence, there are already twice as many reservations as at this time last year, and the pre-booking rate has increased by almost 10 percent compared to 2019, they said.
