Public forestry companies perform key public welfare activities by popularising forest tourism and operating narrow gauge forest railways, guesthouses and excursion centres, the Minister of National Development said in Boldogasszonyfa on Friday.
At the inauguration ceremony of the Sasrét Guesthouse, located at the borderline of Somogy and Baranya Counties and modernised from a budget of almost HUF 100m as Mecsekerdő Zrt.’s own investment, Zsuzsa Németh emphasised that public forestry companies have greatly contributed to provide well-maintained hiking and bicycle roads and tidy lodgings to families seeking recreation, hiking and sport.
“We do need such high-standard tourist destinations so that the highest possible number of Hungarian people should feel encouraged to discover the landscapes of their country”, the Minister said.
Just a month ago, the Government and the Hungarian Hiking Association signed an agreement to restore the previous standard of hiking in Hungary, the Minister recalled. The Government is doing its utmost to find appropriate resources, for instance to refurbish tourist rest houses and to involve the association in the implementation of developments serving societal goals through tender projects.
“Organisational and infrastructure renewal is indispensable for Hungarian people to be as proud of these unique Hungarian values, these movements with wonderful traditions and of this lifestyle as Slovenian, Italian or Austrian citizens are of the tourist attractions in their respective countries”, the Minister noted.
“We are rightly proud of being a nation of athletes”, the Minister added, “but we are not well-off in terms of doing exercise on a national level”. This needs to be changed because “the health condition of the members of a nation directly affects the country’s competitiveness”, and “we need to use the maximum of our bodily and mental capacities to implement growth after the recession”, the minister explained.
President-CEO of Hungarian Development Bank Ltd. László Baranyay underlined that state-owned forestry organisations performed exemplary activities. They maintain and preserve natural values as well as historic sites, and they should continue these activities in the period to come.
Speaking highly of the activity of Mecsek Foresty Co., Chairman of the General Assembly of Baranya County Zsolt Tiffán (Fidesz-KDNP) emphasised that a company could not only achieve success and good results by focusing on figures, efficiency and practicality but also by maintaining and keeping values alive and by helping people discover natural values. Mecsek Forestry Co. supervises the biggest contiguous hunting area in Hungary, of some 31.7 thousand hectares, which is one reason why they are able to offer high-standard hunting services, fostered by the operation of the guesthouse.
“The preservation and responsible management of natural resources and values, the development of agriculture and rural areas and the protection of the natural environment are closely related strategic tasks of national security importance, which gain growing appreciation in the 21st century and are high priority fields for the Government”, he said. If rural development tasks are “performed with a humble and serving attitude, rural Hungary will be capable of top performance”, the Chairman added.
Presenting the Sasrét Guesthouse, CEO of Mecsek Forestry Co. László Keszi revealed that the company used its own funds to refurbish the 110 year-old building located near the Forest School and Narrow Gauge Forest Railway of Zselic. After the reconstruction, the building can sleep 29 guests in 18 rooms, the kitchen serving the forest school has been modernised, the heating and hot water systems have been renewed and a sauna has been added.
This preservation of values also shows that even the state can be a good owner and a good host, László Keszi pointed out.
(Ministry of National Development)
