Lake Balaton Kicks Off 176th Sailing Season

The 176th Balaton boating season started this Saturday, with Balaton Shipping Ltd. (Bahart) expecting its passengers with, among other things, a new timetable and an online ticket purchase option to be introduced from May, the company said at its season opening press conference.

The company’s CEO, Gábor Veigl, is quoted by the state news agency MTI as saying that despite the pandemic, Bahart closed last year with a good result, with a turnover of nearly HUF 4 billion. 1.82 million people travelled on the ferries and 650,000 on the passenger boats.

As the company's port and especially the waterway construction sector also performed well, they will be able to spend nearly HUF one billion of their own resources on improvements this year, he added. He noted that they are confident that this year, they will be able to surpass last year's figures. The figures for the first quarter are encouraging, as the number of ferry passengers increased by 23% compared to last year.

The CEO also spoke about the fleet development launched two-three years ago, which has resulted in a uniform look and comfort level of the vessels carrying passengers this year. Thanks to the state capital increase, the fleet will be expanded with two new ferries and two new catamarans from HUF 5.7 billion. He added that the renovation of existing vessels will continue, including environmental upgrades, and that in the background, planning is already underway for the renovation of passenger boat and ferry ports.