Foreign tourists spend HUF 14,000 per day
The spending of foreign visitors in Hungary rose in the third quarter both in the case of one-day arrivals and those on longer stays. Most foreigners came from Europe, some from the United States and Asia. All spent more money in Hungary than one year before, figures from the Central Statistical Office (KSH) show.
Foreign citizens crossed the Hungarian border on 18.9 million occasions in the third quarter, an increase of 5.1% in one year, national news agency MTI cited the KSH as saying.
Foreign visitors spent HUF 626 billion in Hungary in the third quarter, 6.3% more than in Q3 2016.
The number of tourist trips rose by 7.6% from Q3 2016, while the number of other trips rose by 3.5%.
The number of arrivals from abroad for just one day rose by 4.6%, while the number of trips lasting several days rose 6.5% from Q3 2016.
One-day trips made up 72% of all arrivals from abroad, slightly less than a year earlier, while 53% of arrivals were transits. Some 19% of one-day trips were for tourism purposes, 21% were for shopping, and just 5% were made on business.
Trips of several days lasted on average 5.9 days in Q3, the same as a year earlier, and tourism was the motivation in 92% of these cases.
Spending related to one-day arrivals rose 3.9% in one year to HUF 143 bln, while spending on longer stays was up 7% at HUF 484 bln. Average spending per head per day rose 1% to HUF 14,000.
Nearly four-fifths of all Q3 spending by foreigners was by visitors from Europe, more than 10% by Americans, and 7% by Asians. The money spent rose 3.4%, 6.2% and 1.7%, respectively.
10% more Hungarians travel abroad
At the same time, the number of trips abroad by Hungarians rose 10.2% to 6.1 mln in Q3, while spending rose 11.3% to HUF 279 bln compared to one year earlier.
Some 60% of Hungariansʼ travels abroad were for one day, a proportion that rose from 58% one year earlier. The average stay abroad on longer trips rose, however, from 6.5 days to 6.8 days. Tourism motivated over one third of one-day trips by Hungarians and 92% of longer ones.
Hungariansʼ spending on one-day foreign trips rose 18.1% to HUF 43 bln, while their spending on longer trips was up 10.2% at HUF 236 bln. Spending per head per day rose 2.1% to HUF 11,800 for one-day visits, and rose 1.6% to HUF 14,300 per day for longer ones.
One-day trips led Hungarians mostly to neighboring countries, with Austria and Slovakia accounting for 78% of the total. Another European Union country was the destination in almost 90% of longer visits, and here trips to Italy were up 24%, to Austria by 20%, and to Spain by more than 50%.
Tourism generated a HUF 347 bln surplus in the third quarter, 2.5% more than one year earlier. As the forint strengthened 1.5% to the euro in the period, the surplus was equal to EUR 1.134 bln.
EUR 1.691 bln Trade Surplus an All-time High
Gov't Acknowledges Drop in Motor Fuel Prices
SUPPORT THE BUDAPEST BUSINESS JOURNAL
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For 27 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.
Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
