With its local and artisan products, Lake Balaton has become the 'life-boat' of Hungarian gastronomy in the past year.Continue reading
Lake Balaton has always been one of the main vacations sites in Hungary. However, this year tourists will have to face an unprecedented increase in prices for multiple reasons, such as labor shortages and higher ingredient prices.
Just a few examples of prices tourists will now have to pay for their favorite beach foods at lake Balaton: 800 HUF (2 EUR) for a lángos (Hungarian deep-fried flatbread), 250 HUF (70 Cents) for a pancake, and up to 1,000 HUF (3 EUR) for a pint. This is a 15-20% increase in prices, compared to last year, when only a 5% price increase was recorded.
According to an interview buffet owners gave to RTL Híradó, there are multiple reasons for the soar in prices. Firstly, prices of the ingredients have risen, and there are fewer tourists at lake Balaton spending much less money. Moreover, the Balaton Tourism Association said that prices have also risen due to rising standards, employer costs and developments.
One example of increased employer cost is that chefs at Lake Balaton are asking for a net salary of up to HUF one million, according to the Catering Industry Association. They also added that vacancies are driving up wages, as they are currently struggling with labor shortages in twenty thousand positions of the sector. Some employers have already started looking for guest workers even as far as Vietnam to fill openings.
Featured photo Illustration by György Varga/MTI
