Slovakia the New Favorite Ski and Hiking Destination for Hungarians

A new generation is learning to ski in the Low and High Tatras, where there are plenty of Hungarian-speaking ski instructors and reasonable prices. In no time at all, many people are switching from the expensive Austrian ski resorts to Slovakia, where the number of Hungarian guests and overnight stays exploded last year and has increased even more this year, writes Világgazdaság.

Last year, 36 percent more Hungarians visited Slovakia than in 2022, although this is still seven percent below the 2019 figure, Sona Jelínková, head of the Slovak Tourist Representation in Hungary, noted.

The positive impact of the global travel fever is also visible in Hungarian tourism in Slovakia,

with the number of Hungarian visitors in the first two months of 2024, up 9.1 percent and the number of Hungarian overnight stays up 8.6 percent compared to the same period a year before.

The growth in January and February was fueled by ski tourism, while the increase in demand is explained by favorable prices for accommodation, food, and services.

A new generation is learning to ski, with many Hungarian instructors and good prices, plenty of attractions, and more activities for Hungarian families in Slovakia, stressed Sona Jelínková, adding that all these factors together are just enough reason for winter sports fans to choose Donovaly (Dóval), Chopok, and Tatranská Lomnica (Tátralomnic), the Slovak slopes of the Low and High Tatras, instead of the more expensive Austrian ski resorts.

This winter, 50 percent of the visitors to Donovaly were Hungarians

Világgazdaság learned.

Hungarian tourists spent the most nights in Slovakia last February (12 percent) and the least in November (five percent). The number of visitors followed a similar pattern, with the highest in February (11 percent) and the lowest in November (six percent). Hungary accounts on average for four to five percent of all nights spent by foreign visitors to Slovakia, and is consistently ranked as the fourth largest sending market. Hungarians visiting Slovakia spent more than 243,000 nights in 2023, already exceeding the 2018 figure, but still almost 20,000 less than the record year of 2019.

The start of the year, which has seen spectacular growth, is a good chance that both the number of Hungarian visitors and the number of Hungarian overnight stays will surpass the previous results, now that the growth path halted by COVID has been restored.

The ski season has been replaced by the hiking season: in addition to the Tatra hikes, city tours are also very popular and attracting increasing numbers of visitors.

Hungarian visitors are most often attracted to the Prešov (Eperjes), and Bratislava (Pozsony) regions, with the Trenčín (Trencsén) region being the least attractive.

Slovakia is close and safe, and the fact that 400-500,000 Hungarians live there is a very important attraction for their fellow Hungarians – so everywhere from Žitný ostrov (Csallóköz) to the High Tatras, they can find Hungarian guides, menus, and tourist information in Hungarian, Jelínková concluded.

Via Világgazdaság; Featured image via Facebook/JASNÁ