Magyar News, 1999. szeptember-2000. augusztus (10. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1999-11-01 / 3. szám

First a tourist, then the boss A DREAM THAT BECAME REALITY WITH HARD WORK It was a hot summer day. Quite a few people were heading to Cheshire in Connecticut. The closer we got the more bearable was the heat. The vast areas of trees fortunately had an impact and a promise for a pleasant afternoon. We were gathering at Dr. Somogyi’s home. It turned out to be one of the best places on the map. At my arrival already some daring people were smacking the ball on the tennis court. Others in the swimming pool probably were hoping that their nose would be longer so they could sink deeper into the water. Just about arriving at the same time with me was a gentleman with a very friendly, warm smile. I didn’t remember seeing him before so I asked if he is the person who just came from Hungary. As it turned out the answer was yes. I tried to measure him up. He was self-confident talking softly, never lost his smile. Nice guy, I concluded. Scanning around the oth­ers present, I saw experienced, knowledge­able people and figured that they will be very helpful to this visitor from Hungary. He is the new head of the Hungarian tourism. This visitor from Hungary was every­thing except what we thought of him. He was a power engine, he had more informa­tion in his head than a fully loaded com­puter, he handled concepts, budgets with as much ease as an MIT “Think-Tank”. Always smiling, listened to everybody, did not interrupt or cut into the conversation Who! Were did they find this man? Dr. Peter Kraft made a full circle. His parents used to live in Buda, not far from eachother. At the beginning of the war his mother’s family left through Germany, his father took the route through Italy. Both ended up in Argentina, in the Hungarian community in Buenos Aires and there they met. The family tradition was carried on He, his two sisters and his brother eventu­ally married Hungarians. Peter graduated from the University of Economics in Argentina. Later, in the United States he received his diploma in marketing management from Harvard University. In Venezuela he became the Financial Director of a big corporation Then back in Miami marketing director of the Polaroid Corporation and ended up with the American Express. After the polit­ical change in Hungary he became the founder and general director of the American Express in Budapest. Also chair­man of the American Commercial Bank in Hungary. There is no end to it. On the list is general director of the ING Bank. In 1999 on May 1 he was offered the state controller of tourism. This was a happy marriage between the Hungarian government and Dr.Peter Kraft. The government received a person with extreme talent and experience, and Kraft finally realized his dream to serve the Hungarian people. When Peter Kraft was nineteen years old, he started to save money so he could go to Hungary. Well it finally happened in 1979, as a tourist. As an omen the young lady whom he met in Caracas and later became his wife, was also visiting at the same time not knowing about the other. He was obsessed with the thought that one day he would woik in Hungary. He figured that with a normal lifespan he will live to 2030 and during that time things will turn to his benefit. At an interview with the American Express he was asked why would he want to go to Hungary. His answer was very simple. “I would love to live in Hungary” he said. So he did. Peter Kraft worked at many places and did an excellent job. Whenever he left a position he always had somebody trained in the highest level to continue what he originally introduced. His departure never left a gap, though it was hard to fill. He used to work in the Western Hemisphere and dream of Hungary. Now he is in the country he loves the most and visits others where he has the best connections. He had meetings in the United States with investors to build up tourism in Hungary. His plan is to immediately put one billion Dollars in the development of Hungarian tourism. I have no doubt that he will suc­ceed. Kraft has very good points. Tourism brings in 10.6% of the budget while agri­culture (in and agricultural country!) could only reach 6%. Now this is an eye opener. By 2010 his plan for income from tourism is 12.1%. How will he do it. His basic plan is to raise the quality of tourism to a point where there will be a segment that would bring in more money by spending $ 1000.00 a day instead of $90.00. The plan is to bring in $5 Billion annually in a few years. To reach this there are new invest­ments of $229 million to build 4-5 star new hotels with a total of 1,316 rooms. In 1998 out of the total of 75,210 rooms only 10% The present spending by a tourist a day is $90.00. By raising the quality of supply should bring in tourists who will spend $1000.00 a day, so less people should spend more 100 80 60 40 cn 20' 0 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 Daily spending per person in ten years. 400 05 05 00 n co ^ m io s co o> o> o> a g> O) o> American tourists per thousand was high quality. He also found a way to budget the police force for the frequented tourist areas. Scanning through the resource material he handed out we find interesting information. The western cross­ing points handle as many people as all the other parts of the country together. It is interesting to see that 23% of the visitors go to do shopping, 19% seek recreation, 16% visits relatives, business takes 12% plus conferences 4%. 83% of those visiting relatives or friends stay with the family. Working with the government, the pri­vate sector and the foreign investors, Dr. Peter Kraft is the best choice to do the job. Joseph F. Balogh Page 3

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