1.5 Million Tourists in Hungary in September

According to the data of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) and the National Tourism Data Service Center (NTAK), nearly 1.5 million people visited Hungarian accommodation establishments in September 2024, which is 2% higher than in the same period last year, the Ministry of National Economy (NGM) said in a statement on Tuesday.

Hotels nationwide registered more than 3.6 million guest nights in this period, up 1.1% compared to the previous year.

In the ninth month of the year, the difference in the number weekend days, less favorable weather and the flood situation had a negative impact on domestic tourism, NGM said, adding that Hungary remains a popular destination for travelers. As a result, the number of visitors from abroad to Hungary increased to nearly 767,000 in September, up 10% year-on-year. Domestic visitors spent 1.6 million nights in accommodation, while foreign visitors spent nearly 2 million nights, an increase of nearly 6%.

Rural areas accounted for 60% of the country's total accommodation turnover, or nearly 2.2 million nights. Two thirds of the nights spent outside the capital were spent by domestic guests, and Lake Balaton remained the most popular tourist region in September. Budapest accounted for nearly 40% of accommodation turnover, with 1.4 million overnight stays in the capital, an increase of more than 13.2% compared to last year. The share of international guest nights in Budapest was 87%, while the number of foreign guest nights in the capital was 1.2 million, an increase of 15%. This means that Budapest is attracting a high level of interest from international travelers, NGM said.