Supporting trekking is an important and priority task for the Hungarian Government, said Monika Balatoni, Secretary of State for Social Relations of the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice (KIM) at a press conference before the 100th anniversary celebration of the Hungarian Trekking Association.
The State Secretary said the Accessible Hungary Framework Programme covers various areas of tourism such as pedestrian, bicycle, equestrian, canoeing and sailing, ties in with Hungarian economic development and could be an umbrella for recreational tourism. At the same time, the amended Forest Act has made access to every part of the country unlimited and may serve as a model for the rest of Europe.
Monika Balatoni highlighted that trekking plays an important role in developing a new mindset by taking young people from computers to nature and offering recreational activities for families, to name but a few areas. The development of trekking in Hungary and the presentation of the country’s natural resources may also be important for foreign tourists and have an impact on country image, she added.
The State Secretary underlined the Government’s commitment to establishing cheap, high quality accommodation facilities and tourist shelters every 50 thousand steps, that is 30 kilometres along Hungary’s official tourist tracks, and to ensuring funds. Also, it spent HUF 990 million on assessing some 22 thousand kilometres of tracks and will spend an additional HUF 150 million to assess what are called line-based infrastructures, narrow gauge railways, nature trails, and the same amount on assessing forest bicycle tracks and waterways, with HUF 50 million earmarked for sign painting.
The plans include a software development programme which would be an event calendar to display all national park, forestry and tourist association activities on a single website, as well as the continuation of the tourist shelter improvement programme, Monika Balatoni said.
István Simicskó, State Secretary for Sport and Youth of the Ministry of Human Resources (EMMI), highlighted the role of trekking in sports at the press conference. He made the point that the Government has settled sport affairs and is creating the conditions for sports, physical exercise, trekking and life quality improvement.
Zoltán Illés, State Secretary for Environmental Affairs of the Ministry of Rural Development, pointed out that trekking and nature preservation are interlinked, and public forestry sets great store by preserving the function of well-being and nature preservation, which also serves economic interests. The Government has spent HUF 7 billion on tourism investments in national parks since 2009.
Viktória Horváth, Deputy State Secretary for Tourism of the Ministry for National Economy, explained that the development of domestic tourism offers stability for rural Hungary. Negotiations on tourism management, where recreational and eco-tourism together with network development play a key role, have been completed. This will receive special funding in the next seven years to cover trekking among other fields.
The Hungarian Trekking Association (MTSZ) was founded in 1987 as the legal successor of the Hungarian Tourist Association (1913) and all Hungarian trekking organizations founded since 1873. Today the association has approximately 500 member organizations and nearly 14,000 affiliated members. Covering the whole of Hungary through its member organizations, the association is a member of the European Ramblers’ Association.
(Ministry of Public Administration and Justice)
