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A major hotel development is to be launched in Zalaegerszeg, the county seat of western Zala County, resulting in the construction of a 100-room, four-star hotel, construction news site Magyar Építők reports. The winner of the public tender has already been selected, so the planning of the conference hotel can start soon.
The hotel will include a conference room, a wine tasting center, and a sauna world, so it will appeal to everyone, from companies to people looking for a rest. The restaurant is designed to seat 130 people and the largest conference room is planned to accommodate 350 people.
The local government wants the hotel to become the leading tourist center in the region.
The public procurement was won by ALFATERV-2000, a Hungarian construction company, that is preparing the project in the city center of Zalaegerszeg. The hotel will have around 9-10,000 square meters net usable floor area, with three floors and parking. The municipality intends to operate the hotel as part of a domestic hotel chain under the umbrella of an international brand. In addition, a key design consideration will be to create an energy efficient building that will be sustainable in the long term.
The hotel is probably also needed because Zalaegerszeg is currently undergoing a number of investments and developments, therefore the arrival of large companies may require new accommodations and conference places. Arms manufacturer company Rheinmetall is building a Lynx infantry fighting vehicle production plant in the city, which will also require the ZalaZone automotive test track, another important technology development in Zalaegerszeg. Moreover, the container terminal of the internationally renowned METRANS Group will also be built in Zalaegerszeg, making the city an inescapable rail hub for Europe.
This is not the first major hotel investment in Zala County in recent times. Last year, the multi-billion renovation of the Hotel Helikon was completed in Keszthely, at Lake Balaton.
The superior hotel will have conference rooms and a beautiful view on the well-liked Hungarian lake, and will also be a family-friendly place.
The hotel is likely to contribute to a boost in tourism, and experts see a good chance of the volume of tourism increasing in 2023. According to likebalaton.hu, tourism on Lake Balaton could get a new boost this year, with cyclists in particular arriving in greater numbers. In addition, a major road development was completed in 2022, so it is now possible to cycle from Budapest to the shores of Lake Balaton.
However, not everyone is so optimistic about 2023. According to Tamás Flesch, president of the Association of Hungarian Hotels and Restaurants, the number of foreign guests will stagnate this year, while domestic tourism will decline slightly. At the same time, he added that foreign visitors will remain stable in 2023 due to the weak forint, although the lack of Russian guests is greatly felt in Hungarian tourism.
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