Number of Tourism Nights Down by 64%

In October 2020, as a result of the coronavirus epidemic, international tourists spent 93% fewer tourism nights in commercial accommodation establishments (hotels, boarding houses, camping sites, bungalow complexes and community hostels) compared to the same period of the previous year, the Central Statistical Office reports.

Data published this Tuesday suggest that domestic guests spent 30% fewer nights. 89% of all tourism nights were spent by domestic guests. Total gross sales revenues declined by 67% at current prices in commercial accommodation establishments. Regarding domestic tourism nights, the seasonally and calendar-adjusted data showed a 14-fold increase from the April low, while we saw a 26% decrease compared to the previous month.

In October 2020, compared to the same month of the previous year,
the number of foreign arrivals and tourism nights fell by 94% and 93% respectively (partly as a result of measures to make border crossings more difficult), with 30,000 guests spending 100,000 tourism nights in accommodation establishments. Most guests stayed in hotels, the number of nights spent there decreased to less than a tenth. The decline was more than 80% in bungalow complexes, camping sites, boarding houses and community hostels. Budapest and the Balaton tourist region recorded the largest declines (98% and 95%, respectively).

Also this October, compared to a year before, 359,000 domestic guests (35% decrease) spent 810,000 tourism nights (30% decrease). Of the five types of commercial accommodation, 26% fewer nights were registered in boarding houses and 22% fewer in bungalow complexes. Three-quarters of nights were spent in hotels, a 31% decline. The turnover in community hostels was slightly more than half of the turnover in October of the previous year. Northern Hungary and Lake Balaton were the most popular tourist regions.