Amerikai Magyar Szó, 1989. január-június (43. évfolyam, 1-26. szám)
1989-05-11 / 19. szám
Thursday, May 11. 1989. AMERIKAI MAGYAR SZO 11. DECODES OF I0URISDI The figures are fantastic. Probably no other branch of the economy can show an explosion in numbers that comes even close to the sparkling showing reached by the tourist trade. In 1945 the number of foreign guests to visit Hungary hardly exceeded 6,000; in 1988 the number was a startling twenty million. For Western countries, the early 1950s brought the first revival in tourism since World War II. In the socialist countries the process didn't catch on until the mid-or even late-1950s and then to a much smaller extent. At the time Hungary was concerned with the reconstruction of the war-ravaged country, the implementation of the three- year plan and the almost impossible task of coping with the biggest inflation in history. No wonder then that boosting tourism wasn't a question of top priority. Outgoing tourism showed much the same picture as incoming. Holiday exchange schemes through trade unions were the only way for Hungarians to travel abroad. In 1949 the number of foreign visitors to Hungary did not amount to more than 11,784. This number grew from 15,879 to 124,202 between the years 1951 and 1956. THE FIRST TOURIST GROUPS State organs and committees concerned with promoting and coordinating tourism began to function anew in 1956. IBUSZ travel agency # took various groups of tourists on MALÉV planes to the 1958 World Exhibition in Brussels. In the years to follow special trains went to Rimini, cruises on the Mediterranean Sea were offered and a ship called "Peace" was launched to sail down the Danube through seven countries. The first western groups to visit Hungary after 1956 came for the soccer match between Hungary and West Germany in Budapest. They were followed by Hungarians who began to come and visit their homeland from Canada and the USA. But that wasn't before many prejudices were overcome. Those who came generally returned to Canada and the USA with good impressions of the country. What publicity campaign would have been more effective? Tourist programs were organised by IBUSZ at the time; later a new travel agency for young people, Express, also joined the field. Through these travel agencies as many as 586 tourist groups traveled from Hungary to eleven countries in 1959. Between 1956 and 1960 a total of 1.1 million Hungarian citizens traveled abroad, among them 105.000 in IBUSZ groups. In 1960 the number of people visiting Hungary grew by 28.8 % and the number of transit passengers by 26.8 % compared to the previous year. For the first time since the war, the number of tourists topped the halfmillion mark. In 1962, the days spent by tourists in Hungary and Hungarians abroad grew by 123.9 % and 287.8 % respectively compared to the statistics for 1937, the best pre-war year for tourism. Hungary joined the international agreement easing customs restrictions in the New Hotel autumn of 1963, and in 1964 received a million foreign tourists, which contributed significantly to the country's increasing international prestige. Hungary was one of the countries that accepted the slogan of "Tourism paves the way to peace" for 1967, the international year of tourism. INCREASING FOREIGN EXCHANGE REVENUE Global economic trends have wide-reaching effects on tourism, e.g. the 1973 and the 1979 oil price explosions, as well as unfavorable exchange rates and the emergence of terrorism worldwide. Despite these hindrances, the number of tourists visiting Hungary in 1976 equa— led the country's population, and in 1979 topped 15 million. Hungary's share of tourism in the world went from 1.8 % to 5.6 % between 1965 and 1979. During this same period the proportion of Hungarian travelers rose from 0.8 % to 1.9 %. Almost 70 % of the people visiting Hungary came from the neighboring countries, while over 70 % of Hungarian tourists went to these same countries. In the 1970s revenues from tourism amounted to no more than 4 or 5 % of the country's total export income but even so it was sufficient to meet Hungarian tourists' foreign currency needs. In 1979, Hungarian tourists spent some 6 % of their income and 15% of their free time on tourism, spending a total of 40 million days abroad. These numbers have multiplied in the last few years, especially since the introduction, in early 1988, of the new travel law, which gives the right to all Hungarian citizens to have a so-called world-passport that allows them to travel to any country in the world at any time. A significant number of Hungarians have already exercised this right since the introduction of the new law. NEW HOTELS The 1980s have witnessed rapid acceleration in tourism. Hungary has hosted a number of prestigious congresses. Service, meals and hygiene in the four-and five-star hotels are good. When visitors set out to discover the town for themselves, however, they are soon likely to notice shortcomings which do not always shed the best light on the Hungarian capital admired by so many. Revenues from tourism have increased year by year, reaching 410 million rubels, and $ 480-500 million in 1987. This development has been significantly boosted by the Austrian hotel building program that financed and constructed such hotels as the Forum, the Atrium Hyatt, Novotel and Penta, which are not only new attractions in Budapest,but also cater to the needs of visitors at a much higher level than any hotel before. The Intercontinental, the Hilton and the Thermal already have their regular customers; businessmen, tourists or people visiting relatives here who always come back to their "own" rooms. Construction of further new hotels is under way. For guests who prefer smaller family-type hotels, a new initiative to introduce guest-houses and hostels is now gaining ground. The history of tourism is practically inseperable from the Hungarians living abroad, who have recently "discovered" their homeland. They now return to Hungary in great numbers (appr. 250.000) every year to see their friends and relatives. Even with such an upsurge, the tourist industry is facing difficulties: there is a scarcity of medium-and low-priced hotels suitable for low-budget visitors, the cost of organized tours abroad is going up and the choice of foreign package-tours is quite limited. The role of working capital ought to be increased in tourist investments. One step in this direction was the signing of new contracts with Austrian and Finnish companies to build hotels in cooperation. There are many opportunities that are still untapped, but future advances in Hungarian tourism hinge most of all on the success of the government's program of stabilization and on how the country's economy fares in the long run. Janos Tihanyi (from the Hungarian Digest) Hungary began tearing down a barbed-wire fence and alarm system dividing it from Austria, ending an era in its relations with the West. Last year, Hungary started allowing citizens to travel to the West as often as they can afford it. Its new rules have made Hungary an escape point for refugees from less liberal East Bloc-nations,
