The SZÉP Card has recently been the growth engine of domestic tourism, Deputy State Secretary for Tourism Viktória Horváth said at the ninth national conference of the Hungarian Tourism Destination Management Association (TDM) held in the spa city of Hajdúszoboszló.

At the event, the Deputy State Secretary said that in the initial four months of 2014 employers transferred HUF 32bn to SZÉP Card accounts, up by 18 percent compared to the same period last year.

However, she called attention to the fact that there is still some HUF 1.84bn on the cards left from 2012 fringe benefits that card holders must spend until the end of this week otherwise the money will be returned to employers. At the end of April, the number of SZÉP Card terminals was 54 170 and the number of card holders was 969 thousand, she added.

Viktória Horváth stressed that in the first quarter gross revenues at accommodation establishments increased by 12 percent. The National Tourism Development Concept will be soon presented to the new Government and in case the concept is endorsed a new tourism law can be adopted.

There is one TDM office in almost every town which belongs to the top 30 Hungarian tourism destinations, she said.

(Ministry for National Economy)