Following last year, when several tourism indicators hit new highs, this year also promises to be a record-breaking one. Dynamic growth in the number of tourism nights by domestic guests continued in the first month of 2016. Arrivals by foreign guests have also picked up sharply after a slight drop at the end of the previous year: the number of international arrivals grew in eight out of the altogether nine Hungarian regions.

The number of guests at accommodation establishments increased – even compared to a high base — by 6 percent in January 2016. Within that, the number of tourism nights by domestic and foreign guests rose by 6.1 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively, year-on-year.

In the observed period, the number of foreign guests increased by 7.9 percent (to 255 thousand), while the respective number of tourism nights at accommodation establishments edged up to 644 thousand.

Regarding Hungary’s traditional sender countries, the largest increases were registered from Central European countries. The 16 percent and 25 percent respective growth in the number of tourism nights by Austrians and Ukrainians was highly remarkable. Although the country is not in the top ten, the number of tourism nights by Chinese soared 143 percent year-on-year.

The number  of domestic guests increased by 7.8 percent and thus reached 285 thousand, while the respective number of tourism nights recorded growth of 6 percent (to 621 thousand). The SZÉP Card has been instrumental in the 11.7 percent growth of the revenues of accommodation establishments generated by domestic guests.

Hungarian guests spent HUF 887 million through the SZÉP Card, up by 19 percent year-on-year. The main beneficiaries of this increase were hotels in the countryside.

The hotel room occupancy ratio improved by 0.9 percent, to 39.1 percent. Gross revenues at accommodation establishments rose by 3.8 percent; to HUF 22bn. RevPAR has gained 1.4 percent over the past one year.

(Ministry for National Economy)