Hungarian tourism has resumed, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office said in Budapest on Friday, with domestic tourism shutting down its strongest summer yet with 15 million guest nights, an increase of 16 per cent compared to 2020.
In presenting the Sándor Kőrösi Csoma Award, the highest government award in the field of tourism and hospitality, Csaba Dömötör stated that the winners had worked their whole lives, provided that “Not only us, but the whole world knows: Hungary is a good place. It’s good to live here, it’s good to come here“.
At the event, the Secretary of State thanked the representatives of the tourism sector for their endurance even in the most difficult months of the pandemic, knowing that tourism was a mainstay of the economy.
also noted
The government has supported tourism from staying afloat and then re-intensifying it since the start of the pandemic.
He stated, for example, that subsidies affecting tourism exceeded HUF 800 billion in the first year of the epidemic, which is also notable in the European comparison.
According to Csaba Dömötör, the goal was not only to survive, but also to “The world opens up from the best location there isThe sector can start again. That’s why 40 hotels, 14,000 private accommodations, 600 bed and breakfasts, and 114 beaches have been built or renovated.
László Fényid, Executive Vice President of the Hungarian Tourism Agency (MTÜ), confirmed that the common finding for tourism professionals is that the sector is on its way to rebuilding the 2019 level.
At the same time, he noted that now that the workforce has become one of the most serious challenges in tourism as a result of the crisis caused by the pandemic, it is particularly important to recognize the performance of outstanding professionals.
Lajos Fazekas, Managing Director of Aquaticum Debrecen Kft. , who received the Sándor Kőrösi Csoma Grand Prix,
who received partial recognition for his role in managing tourism in Debrecen and the country.
Among others, Ildiko Feketi Dombe, Managing Director of the Ferenc Erkel Cultural Center and Non-Profit Museums Museum Limited in Gyula, has been honored for her decades of distinguished professional work in cultural tourism management.
Annamaria Kubik, Retired Chief of the Balaton Uplands National Park Directorate, received the Kurosi Choma Sandor Grand Prize for the development of the natural values of the Balaton Heights according to Tourism.
Gabor Michalko, geographer, tourism researcher and university professor, received the award in recognition of his scientific research activities in the field of tourism and for the development of professional training in the field of tourism.
Norbert Mihaly Jeromos, parishioner of Tihany Monastery, won the prize, among other things, for the renovation of the settlement churches under his auspices. Confectioner László Mihályi, founder of Mihályi Patisserie, received an award for inventing the French confectionery style in Hungary.
László Csizmadia, former Director General of the Budapest University School of Commerce, Hospitality and Tourism of Economics, received the Sándor Kőrösi Csoma Lifetime Achievement Award.
The certificates and awards that make up the baton were handed out to the professionals by Csaba Dömötör and László Lengid.
As announced by the Hungarian Tourism Agency, the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Award was established in 2019 by the agency to recognize outstanding professional achievements in this field.
