By having introduced appropriate rules, state service providers which are responsible for guaranteeing the safety of travel are fully prepared; at the same time, discipline on the part of members of the public continues to remain a priority, Gergely Gulyás, the Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office said at a press conference held on Monday in Budapest.

At the event introducing the campaign ‘Travel With Us Safely’ of the Hungarian Tourism Agency, the Hungarian Railway Company MÁV, the Hungarian coach company Volánbusz and the oil and gas company Mol, the Minister said after the strict rules of staying at home, people feel the need to relax and to travel.

Borders are being opened one by one, and based on the rate of infections the Central European region can be considered safer. However, after a period full of risks, it is perhaps safest to spend the summer holidays in Hungary. Therefore, they are now encouraging members of the public “to spend the summer holidays in Hungary, or at least also in Hungary,” he added.

Mr Gulyás said, based on statistics, spring tourism had been effectively brought to a halt in the country. Initial data also appears to confirm this: in April there was a 99 per cent fall in foreign guest nights compared with the year before, and domestic tourism decreased to just 5 per cent. Tourism and those involved in passenger transportation sustained major losses, and in order to minimise them we need to stand together in the coming months.

Chief Executive of the Hungarian Tourism Agency Zoltán Guller said after a collapse in 2008-2009, Hungarian tourism started rising again in 2010, exceeded the pre-crisis level in 2011 and increased continuously year after year until most recently. Since 2016 Hungarian tourism has increased at a rate double the increase of GDP, and in January-February this year, a 22 per cent rise was recorded which appeared to indicate that this would be the best year in the history of Hungarian tourism.

Tourism accounts for 13 per cent of GDP and provides a living for 400,000 families and 40,000 Hungarian small and medium-sized enterprises. Foreigners bring around four billion euros more into the country than Hungarians take out of the country. Last year, the Central Statistical Office recorded a number of tourists in Hungary amounting to more than one and a half times the country’s population. The virus disrupted this success story, Mr Guller said.

According to the Chief Executive, the government responded very swiftly and helped the sector to survive with grants provided at the necessary rate. Tourism resumed in May, and in the past 21 days the volume of travel in the countryside has exceeded that of last year by 30 per cent on average. He took the view that during the summer months hotels and other accommodation facilities in the countryside could operate at an occupancy rate as high as 70 per cent, and in 2020 domestic tourism could do even better than it did last year. However, in order to achieve this, it is necessary that anyone who can should spend their holidays in Hungary, on the one hand, because it is safe, and on the other because by doing so they could support the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Hungarian families, he underlined.

Chair-Chief Executive of MÁV Róbert Homolya highlighted that in the summer they will seek to serve the increased demand for travel, and will pay particular attention to safety during travel: the wearing of face masks will be compulsory both for passengers and for staff. They will disinfect railway stations and the entire fleet of carriages with daily regularity.

In order to facilitate social distancing, the railway company will only sell every second ticket on services to Lake Balaton. Additionally, they will provide the option of contactless and cash-free payment in MÁV’s application, at all ticket offices, ticket vending machines and on trains, the campaign video shown at the press conference highlights.

Chair-Chief Executive of Volánbusz Ilona Dávid said during the epidemic the company made every effort to protect the health of its passengers and staff members and to ensure safe travel. Increased cleaning and disinfecting both on coaches and at stations has become an even higher priority. While the danger appears to be abating, they will maintain a number of precautions. With the mobile ticket facility introduced in March, in cooperation with Nemzeti Mobilfizetési Zrt., they made the cash-free purchase of tickets possible; they will keep this facility in place and will extend the range of available products.

Oszkár Világi, Executive Vice President of Mol Group Innovative Businesses and Services highlighted that in addition to strict hygiene measures introduced at filling stations, they are also launching a programme in cooperation with the Hungarian Tourism Agency. In the travel promotion game ‘Ready for Adventure?’ they recommend 50 destinations and spectacles throughout the country, and in addition to discounts, those participating in the game will also take part in a draw in the autumn.

(Prime Minister’s Office / MTI)