Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
accession, particularly the liberalization of air
traffic, opened up the market for several Euro-
pean budget airlines that were ready to seize the
opportunity. While in 2003 only two low-cost
carriers operated from Budapest, the number of
budget airlines grew to eight by the end of
2004, and by April 2005 the number serving
Hungary had increased to ten, with new com-
panies continuing to appear.
Low-cost airlines have contributed signifi-
cantly to the growth of international passenger
traffic at Budapest: in 2004, a record number of
6,456,983 travellers were registered at the capi-
tal's Ferihegy International Airport, a near 30%
increase over 2003, which made Ferihegy the
third busiest Central European airport after
Vienna and Prague. Although this growth can
also be attributed to the global rebound of air
travel after the global depression following
'9/11', the rising number of both incoming and
outgoing budget airline passengers is a major
factor of change in the overall increase of
demand. While in 2004 every seventh customer
travelled by budget airlines, in the first 3 months
of 2005 already every third passenger was
transported by low-cost carriers. Comparing the
absolute volumes of budget demand, Budapest
Airport registered 445,420 customers between
January and March 2005, as opposed to
51,667 in the same period of 2004, represent-
ing a more than eightfold increase in the year
following the country's EU accession (Budapest
Airport, 2005).
Certainly the growth of budget airlines
serving Hungary has helped to increase inter-
national tourism revenues. In 2004, low-cost
airlines brought around 340,000 tourists to the
country, increasing direct revenues from tour-
ism by an estimated
€
90m and generating an
additional
€
13m in tax receipts (Galla, 2004).
In addition to attracting recognized budget air-
lines such as EasyJet or Air Berlin, the signifi-
cant market demand for low-fare air travel from
and to Central and Eastern Europe, together
with the elimination of administrative bound-
aries with EU accession, have also led to the
establishment of new low-cost carriers with a
regional hub such as WizzAir and SkyEurope.
Further, as the EU accession is expected
to result in growing incoming demand, the
Hungarian government considers the develop-
ment
priority. During 2004,
€
4.5m was spent to im-
prove the infrastructure of six regional airports,
including FlyBalaton Airport in Sármellék, the
gateway to Lake Balaton and to the renowned
spa destination Hévíz, and Airport Debrecen in
the country's second largest city, which received
€
1.460m and
€
0.880m respectively (Galla,
2004). In 2005, the project continued on a
similar scale as the development of regional
airports was expected to reduce the spatial
concentration of tourism demand and to extend
the tourist season.
In the field of air transport, a potential
negative consequence of enlargement is the
likely future consolidation process that will
particularly affect the Central Eastern European
airlines, including the Hungarian national
carrier Malév, because of their fragile financial
situation.
Hungarian Tourism in the
European Union
According to the marketing strategy of HNTO,
there are four major tourism types that char-
acterize the tourism supply of the country to
foreign, predominantly EU visitors:
health tourism: medical and wellness
services that are provided in almost all
parts of the country;
●
MICE tourism: the supply of which is con-
centrated in some major cities, especially in
Budapest, where high quality conference
facilities have been available since the late
communist period;
●
cultural tourism: culture, heritage, historic
cities, gastronomy, wine and village tour-
ism are all important: there are nine World
Heritage Sites within the country together
with
●
several
cultural
festivals,
and,
for
example, the Tokaj wine region; and
activity tourism: building on youth, sport,
green and recreational tourism the facilities
of which are available around major lakes
(Balaton, Velence, Fert
O
) and along rivers
(Danube, Tisza) and in the mountains.
●
Since 2003, in order to become more suc-
cessful in the European tourism market, Hungary
of
regional
airports
as
an
economic
