Hungary 2030 be Central Europe's leading tourist area
Zalaszabar, Saturday, April 13, 2019 (MTI) - According to the minister who heads the Prime Minister's Cabinet Office, the government's goal is for Hungary to become the leading tourist region in Central Europe by 2030, and it will provide all domestic and European Union resources for this.
Antal Rogán said on Saturday in Zalaszabar at the handover of the development of Holnapocska Tábor and Zobori Élménypark worth more than one billion forints: in the next decade, the government will allocate 828 billion forints for the development of Hungarian tourism specifically outside of Budapest.
"Zalaszabar was ahead of Budapest", because Hungary's first fixed-installation roller coaster was also built here, and there is no other amusement park of this quality for children in the country, said Antal Rogán.
Tourism contributes to the GDP and the strengthening of the national economy, but it is not only about foreigners coming here, but also about "discovering our own country". In the past three years, the development of tourism has been unbroken, the number of guest nights in the last two years has exceeded the previous year by about 10 percent, roughly half due to foreign and domestic guests, explained the minister.
He said: with the establishment of the strategic tourism sector, the Hungarian Tourism Agency (MTÜ), the goal was to create a top body that would also participate in the coordination and development of tourism. The government wants to develop accommodation, restaurants, tourist attractions, adventure parks, health resorts and infrastructure at the same time.
At the inauguration, which was also attended by Zoltán Guller, the CEO of MTÜ, Antal Rogán mentioned that a pension development program was launched in the country last year, in the framework of which 650 developments were subsidized, most of which will be realized in the next year. Last year, support was provided for the development of the Balaton beaches, this year HUF 2.5 billion will be provided for investments in the free beaches on the lake shore - mainly for families with children.
Antal Rogán called it very important that the sectors belonging to the tourism area "operate cleanly and taxed", since taxes can remain low if everyone pays fairly. As a result of the VAT reduction implemented this year in catering, for example, the turnover of the sector increased by 40-60 percent in a single month compared to last year, and the program for the digitization of accommodation, which will start in the summer, serves to whiten the notification system.
According to Jenő Manninger, the region's Fidesz parliamentary representative, the investment in Zalaszabar is about more than just regional development, its purpose is to make children and families feel good. The unique high-quality development in the vicinity of Little Balaton, which is several hundred kilometers long, contributes to the strengthening of the entire region as a tourist destination, he added.
Zoltán Szabadics, the founder of the Holnapocska Camp and the Zobori Amusement Park, said that he and his wife used all their free resources to build the camp and the adventure park, which host hundreds of children living with or recovering from serious illnesses every year. They wanted to create the most attractive adventure park and the best camp in the Balaton tourist region, which was helped by the Kisfaludy program.
According to on-site information, the cost of the new investment, which was completed nine months before the completion deadline, exceeded HUF 1.271 billion, of which almost HUF one billion was covered by the resources of the Kisfaludy Tourism Development Program. In addition to the country's currently only fixed roller coaster, a new reception building and visitor center were built, and the existing boat slide was added.
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