BUDAPEST, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Hungary's tourism has every chance of remaining competitive in the region thanks to quick decision-making by the government in the early stages of the novel coronavirus outbreak, head of the Hungarian Tourism Agency (MTU) Zoltan Guller told on Tuesday.
In a interview to the Hungarian daily Magyar Nemzet, Guller said the government had reacted quickly by throwing a lifebelt to Hungarian tourism, with such measures as reducing various taxes and introducing a loan repayment moratorium until the end of the year.
The head of the MTU said that intercontinental travel was not expected this year, but domestic tourism and travel to neighboring countries was likely to pick up.
He stressed that the fallout of coronavirus would force lasting changes in services, and safety will be the uppermost concern for tourists.
Tourism accounted for 13 percent of Hungarian GDP in 2019, according to Guller.
The coronavirus has had a demonstrable effect on Hungary's tourism industry as tourist groups have not left China for European destinations, the MTU said on its website.
"Chinese tourists represented 5-6 percent of the total guest traffic, most of whom arrived in Budapest in groups," the MTU recalled.
According to China National Tourist Office in Budapest, a total of 277,389 Chinese tourists visited Hungary in 2019, an 8.36-percent increase year-on-year. Enditem
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