Huge Price Hikes Are Coming to Beaches, Affecting Tickets and Buffets

Hungary Today 2024.06.19.

This year, a day at a Hungarian beach could cost roughly a tenth more than last year. Tickets have become more expensive in many places, in some cases by 50 percent, writes Index.

At the Gyula Castle Spa (southeastern Hungary), admission fees are 15 percent higher than last year. If they had not raised prices, their budget would have collapsed. Managing Director Miklós Kun noted that “we raised the prices to HUF 4,500 (1 EUR = 395 HUF). Obviously, the primary reason for the price increase is that there was a 10-15 percent increase in wage costs, as most of our employees’ wages are tied to the minimum wage.”

The Gyula Castle Spa. Photo via Facebook/Gyulai Várfürdő

In Budapest, the Rómaifürdő opened on Monday, and from Saturday onwards, the Pünkösdfürdő beach will be open to the public.

Children up to the age of three can enter for free. At the Rómaifürdő, adults have to pay HUF 4,000 and families of three HUF 8,000.

The company (Budapest Spas cPlc.), running most of Budapest’s spas, closed 2023 with a profit of more than HUF 5 billion, and they claim that last year’s currency depreciation, which was the highest in Hungary in the European Union, is now being passed on to the price of tickets. Gyula Lazay, operations director of Budapest Spas cPlc., emphasized that inflation and a sharp rise in utility charges also justified the price hike.

Photo via Facebook/Budapest Szechenyi Spa

According to Pénzcentrum, a ticket at Balatonvilágos (southern shore) has increased by 50 percent, from HUF 800 to HUF 1,200. At the Esterházy beach in Balatonfüred (northern shore), the increase was seven percent, hence there a ticket costs HUF 2,100. There was no increase in Siófok and Balatonszárszó (both on the southern shore).

Based on calculations, an average family of four can expect a day at the beach to cost around a tenth more this year than last year, as buffets have also become more expensive.

As Judit Gosztola, an analyst at Pénzcentrum, highlighted, a family spends at least HUF 15,000 a day on the shores of Lake Balaton.

Photo via Facebook/Balaton Sound Official

According to the Central Statistical Office (KSH), the average price of a hamburger in May was almost HUF 1,700 in the country, up 59 percent from two years ago.

Fact

As Hungary Today previously reported based on an analysis by Oeconomus, prices for ice cream and other buffet food are expected to rise in the high season. Although the price of ice cream in Hungary is forecast to rise by 10-15 percent this year, internationally, when looking at popular European beaches, ice cream in Hungary cannot be considered that expensive, with prices last year reaching the level of the cheapest places in Europe. While the typical price in 2023 was HUF 440-520 per scoop, this summer it will rise to HUF 500-600 per scoop. Moreover, one of the unmissable dishes at Balaton beach buffets is lángos. A year ago, the price of a plain lángos was over HUF 900, but in 2024, it will certainly be over HUF 1,000.

Oeconomus’ analysis also compares the prices of other classic buffet meals, showing the changes over the last four years:

The price of sausages has risen from HUF 1,930 to HUF 3,070 (per kilogram).
A kilogram of carp steak has risen from HUF 2,220 to HUF 4,310.
A hamburger went from HUF 674 to HUF 1,640.
French fries were HUF 533, now HUF 1,050 (per kilogram).

As the Beach Season Kicks Off, Admission Fees Become More Expensive

The opening of the capital's baths depends on the weather.Continue reading

Via Index; Featured image via Facebook/Balatonfüred Széchenyi Strand