Moreover, a quarter of the foreign guests who had usually visited the spa town before are from Russia and Ukraine.Continue reading
Foreign guests canceled 20 percent of their bookings in Hungary in March and April, citing the war.
The Association of Hungarian Tour Operators (MABEUSZ) has found that most people have canceled because they are afraid of the war situation.
The average cancellation rate is around 20 percent, which of course depends a lot on the nature of the trip, whether we are talking about tourism or business tourism, and also on the nationality of the guests. These are short-term cancellations, from March to April, and later cancellations are on hold for the time being,”
said Judit Lázár, president of MABEUSZ. So far, a higher proportion of business trips have been canceled.
“Those concerned are clearly the bookings by Russian and Ukrainian tourists heading here. In addition, bookings were canceled mainly from North America and Asia,” Balázs Bakó, spokesperson for the Association of Hungarian Travel Agencies told RTL.
Cancellations from Ukrainian and Russian tourists due to the war could increase further in the coming weeks.
Air Canada is also canceling its Budapest-Toronto flight scheduled for May, citing the uncertain situation.
However, the war in a neighboring country, far from the Hungarian border and especially from popular tourist destinations, has not affected the travel habits of many.
“I’m sad about what’s happening in Ukraine, but I thought it’s not that close, so I can come,” an Italian tourist also told RTL. Other tourists, who asked Hungarian friends about the situation before they set off, had similar views.
Source: RTL.hu
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