The Bundestag’s Tourism Committee of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Sport and Tourism Committee of the Hungarian Parliament held talks on deepening traditionally good tourism relations between the two countries. Representatives of the Ministry for National Economy and professional organizations on behalf of domestic tourism enterprises also participated at the forum organized by the Bundestag, the Hungarian Embassy in Berlin, the Sport and Tourism Committee of Hungary’s National Assembly and the German representation of Hungarian Tourism Plc.
The common objective of the forum was the mutual exchange of information and experiences as well as studying future tourism market trends. Germany has been Hungary’s most significant source of tourists; in 2012 570 thousand German guests spent 2.15 million tourism nights at commercial accommodations which constitute almost the one-fifth of total tourism nights by foreigners. On the other hand, in Germany the number of Hungarian guests’ tourism nights in the same period was more than 700 thousand. Therefore, cooperation in the tourism management of the two countries is of vital importance for the future prospects of domestic tourism.
As an initiative of Ambassador Dr. József Czukor, roundtable discussions were organized to cover three topics: current situation in health tourism and its future development options; development of transport links between the two countries with a focus on tourism and tourism investment opportunities. The Parliament’s Sport and Tourism Committee was represented by Vice President Ferenc Kovács and Sándor Hadházy who emphasized the importance of partnership, common past and the opportunities provided by the future. President of the German Tourism Committee Klaus Brähmig highlighted traditionally good German-Hungarian tourism relations and the significance of having a common strategy and a vision of the future.
Deputy Secretary of State for Tourism at the Ministry for National Economy Dr. Viktória Horváth underlined the crucial role played by health tourism, insurance companies, tourism investments and student exchange programmes in the development of tourism between the two countries. The Deputy State Secretary stressed that the Hungarian Government will pay special attention to developments aimed at improving the quality and increasing the number of tourism offers while prioritizing the improvement of competitiveness. This commitment was warmly welcomed by investors’ representatives.
According to Dr. Viktória Horváth, a proper answer shall be given to the question of how the flow of German tourists coming to Hungary can be maintained or even increased in the long term as generations which are traditionally interested in the country or are familiar with it are getting older.
Participants usually agreed that one of the appropriate responses was health tourism – both the sector offering natural cures and that of traditional medical services – which may be attractive also for younger generations along with being a significant segment of existing German-Hungarian tourism relations. Germany has been investing heavily in healthcare, and as the German authorities have been working out a health prevention strategy they may cooperate with Hungary. However, besides preserving their health German tourists expect to be entertained and that is how by discovering new guests the current tourism numbers could be boosted.
She finally proposed that participants shall study means for stimulating professional student exchange programmes between German and Hungarian youth studying in the fields of tourism and catering.
At the event it was also widely acknowledged that further infrastructure projects are necessary and active tourism shall also gain greater weight. In addition, the issue of bicycle routes and the importance of further extending the bicycle route from Austria to Hungary were highlighted. Railway connection and bus transport between the two countries were also discussed: in order to boost the share of railway traffic several travel offers with special prices are offered with Hungarian destinations.
(Ministry for National Economy)
