Tourism Group Turns into a Competition-Based Agency

The Hungarian Tourism Agency (MTÜ) has begun establishing a competition-based 'partner pool' of agencies, which will also ensure the rational and cost-effective use of public funds, the tourism management agency announced in a statement.

According to the MTÜ, the new system builds both on the organization’s strengthened internal professional expertise and on open competition among market participants. This way, every task can be carried out by well-prepared professionals and agencies with the deepest knowledge of the given field.

As a first step in the transformation, three EU accelerated public procurement calls were published on September 3. In these calls, the MTÜ is offering business opportunities to sector participants in the areas of strategic and digital media, as well as market research, for the third quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027, the MTÜ announced.

The opportunity to participate is open to all agencies and teams of experts who have proven expertise in their respective fields, and professional collaboration and consortium-based participation are expressly encouraged, the announcement states.

The goal of the MTÜ and Visit Hungary is to establish an open, transparent, and multi-stakeholder cooperation system that creates genuine competition in the market.

The new model breaks with the previous practice of reserving large project packages for a narrow circle of partners. Selection based on professional performance, specialization, and transparent, objective evaluation criteria simultaneously increases efficiency and the transparency of public fund utilization, the statement reads.

The press release quotes Olivér Csendes, MTÜ’s chairman and CEO, who said that broader competition among the market’s best players can bring more professional expertise, more innovation, and better results for Hungarian tourism, while ensuring that every forint spent generates the greatest possible value.