Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Speech at the Inauguration of the Som-hegy Tourist House - 29 October 2013, Pilisszántó

Good Afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen!

Thank you for inviting me here and allowing me the opportunity to be with you once again. There are a few things that I would like to draw to your attention, as a kind of inaugural speech. To begin with, here is this initiation I have in my hand here: Pilis Park Forest Co., and underneath it says "Park Forest for man". This is not as simple as it would seem at first glance. For many years, many people in Hungary thought that the forests are not really for the people. They could cite arguments to support their case. First of all, people are only good for damaging forests, bothering the wild animals, littering, making a mess and ruining the forest. And so those who for many years believed that it is best if our forests are kept locked away, well, their standpoint was certainly supported by valid arguments, but we must also recognise that this is not the right state of affairs. Arguments here or there, the time must eventually come when, as Pilis Park Forest Co. says, we regard forests as things that have been created for man; they were created by God for man's use, and so that people could enjoy them. It is also true, that those who use it, who enjoy it, meaning those who are allowed in, who are able to be here, go on walks, be part of the hiking movement thanks to the park forest, have a responsibility towards creation, meaning they must preserve everything they find here. It is my belief that, although perhaps slowly, but this cultural change is happening, and can be observed especially around Budapest for the time being. The Pilis Park Forest is a frontrunner in this change. I would also like to thank the park's president for his commitment and devotion to this cause. We will slowly also be able to open the large forests that are farther away from Budapest to the public, and we may even see cyclists in the forests, who get on well with the tourists and the foresters alike, and hopefully also with the wildlife. And then there will be those who will travel the forest on horseback. And in the end it will transpire that we are a relatively normal people, meaning that if everyone follows the fundamental rules that need to be adhered to here, then there is room for everyone under the same roof, or to be precise, under the same sky.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The second thing I would like to mention is that it is not usual for the head of a government, whoever that might be, to attend the inauguration of a tourist house. prime ministers usually open factories, where hundreds of new jobs have been created, or an Academy of Music, which provides thousands of people with unforgettable experiences, but tourist houses usually fall outside the scope of interest of prime ministers. I am, however, very glad to be among you here today, because I have several reasons for being here. One, as President [of the Hungarian Hiking Association] István Garancsi has already mentioned, is that we have signed an agreement that will eventually enter the annals of history, if hiking does indeed have a history book, as the Dobogókő Agreement, in which we undertook various things. What we primarily undertook was to work to ensure that hiking and the hiking movement should once again appear in the same light it once did in Hungary. Another reason I had no choice but to come here today was that that when I made a little speech there last time good old Lajos Thuróczy, if I may refer to the President in that manner, waved his hand and asked, where's the money? I told him that for the moment, I've only brought a promise. And he replied that he has seen IOUs like that before; not much has happened before when people have made promises. And I told him that I would like to be there at the inauguration of the first tourist house to prove that the Dobogókő agreement isn't just some dead letter, but rather a plan of action. I also felt it important to be here with you today because I would like to remind everyone of my request, that we should not choose half-solutions. Meaning that if we do something, it should be such that even our children will be proud of it. If we build a stadium, it should be such that people come from far and wide to look at it in awe. If we renovate an academy of music then is should be such that people come from all corners of the earth to be there. If it is the Erkel Theatre we renovate, which we will be inaugurating next week, then it should such that it could stand its ground in any capital in Europe. And if we build tourist houses, then they should not be lower quality than the ones we find in Austria. Half-solutions are unacceptable. If we do something, we should take it seriously and do a good quality job of it. And finally, please allow me to remind you of another promise we made, and which was stamped out of my by President Garancsi, that every fifty thousand steps, which is thirty kilometres, if my calculations are correct, there should be a facility, let's call it a tourist house, where hikers can find good quality, cheap accommodation. Every fifty thousand steps of every thirty kilometres along Hungary's official tourist routes. This is our plan.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are of course also experiencing teething troubles. I have tried to follow and listen to a few people about how this tourist house is being built, and how, for instance, our authorities are behaving, are they issuing permits in time, and how, for instance, private companies responsible for the electricity supply are behaving, are they cooperating or not. Without going into details, I would simply like to say that there are teething troubles that we must grow out of. I am sad to say that even among the organisations and authorities that fall within the scope of authority of the Hungarian state, there are some that require more time for that certain cultural change we have spoken about, or rather it is everyone's job, this is why we receive our salaries, to ensure that the people of Hungary feel good and feel at home in their own homeland, well, to achieve this goal and reach this way of thinking, will require a little more time.

Finally, it is my duty to read out what István Garancsi gave me, saying it must be stated without fail. And these are as follows. I must now tell you about an eight-point action plan. The first is to assess and review existing tourist houses. István has already spoken about this a little earlier. The surveying of tourist routes. This is about 22 thousand kilometres with a projected cost of 990 million forints, which I believe the Government has already voted to provide for this purpose. The surveying and standardised registration of route infrastructure, small gauge railways and teaching routes. There are about 400 teaching routes totalling 2500-3500 kilometres, and the cost of surveying is some 150 million forints. This is also available, Lajos. The surveying of forest cycling routes; the estimated cost of surveying is 100 million forints. The indicated forest cycling routes will be surveyed in the first stage, while other forest cycling routes that are suitable for cycling will be surveyed during the second phase. The surveying of waterways; we are providing 50 million forints for this purpose. Painting trail markers; the annual cost of maintenance is some 50 million forints. It is available in the budget. We also have a software development programme, which is in fact an event calendar, and the purpose of which is to allow for the concurrent uploading of programmes organised by national parks, forests, and the Tourist Association, meaning that if someone wants to know what is happening in the coming weeks within the framework of the hiking our touring movement, then they can find all the information they are looking for in one place. And the Hungarian Hiking Association also wants to introduce a card system, which István has undertaken to ensure will be realised by December of this year. And finally, here is the tourist house programme, which is the reason we are gathered here today.

And just to make sure you don't think this is a one-off event, according to my calendar - although I will not be the one attending - a yurt camping main building will be inaugurated on Mogyoró Hill in Visegrád on 13 November 2013. The renovation of the Kőhegy tourist house near Szentendre began in October 2013, and the renovated Black Hill tourist house near Pilisszentlélek is also due to be inaugurated in the spring of 2014. Finally, to fulfil all of István's requirements, the development project regarding the National Blue Circle. This is also something I must talk about. This means that if we complete our work by the end of 2014, the 20 thousand kilometres of Hungarian tourist routes will become available digitally, and so can be followed online.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

These are our objectives. The conditions are available to us and the financial resources are available to us, now all we need to do is grow our of our teething troubles and preserve the enthusiasm we have been given by the older generation so that, as we all wish, the Hungarian hiking movement can once again shine in its old splendour. I said so last time, and I must quickly mention it again: this is not the sport of the rich. And so if we want the feeling that only the rich have access to certain things while others don't, if we want this feeling to disappear in Hungary, or at least diminish somewhat, then we must make a point of realising such investments and development projects so that those with less money can also find humanly dignified opportunities for leisure, entertainment and joy in Hungary. Because until we are all at home here; nobody is really at home in Hungary.

Thank you for your kind attention.

(Prime Minister’s Office)