Czech
Dynamic increase in the number of business tourism events held in Hungary in 2018
Last year the number of business tourism events organised in Hungary increased by 13% across the country when compared to the 2017 figures, we found out from the 2018 statistical report of the Hungarian Convention Bureau of the Hungarian Tourism Agency.
The statistical report, which was created as a result of the cooperation of a total of 296 partners, shows that a total of 4816 business tourism events were held in Hungary in 2018, of which 3361 conferences were organised by Hungarian, while 1455 events were organised by international clients. The number of internationally organised conferences increased drastically (+34.8%) compared to 2017. The increase in the total number of participants exceeded even the increase in the number of events. Compared to the previous year, 17.8% more, that is a total of 794,758 guests participated in business tourism events in Hungary in 2018, with an increase in the number of participants at both events organised by Hungarian (+15.7%) and by international (+23.7%) clients.
The TOP 3 clients holding international conferences continued to be British (16.6%), American (14.6%), and German (13.7%), similarly to 2017; however, Hungary was a sought-after location for business tourism events among Spanish (9.6%), French (4.0%) and Austrian (3.6%) clients as well.
When compared to the explosive growth (+46.8%) experienced in 2017, the number of association conferences continued to increase, even if it a slower pace than in the previous year (+19.1%).
The location of most business tourism events continued to be Budapest: almost 80% of conferences were held in the capital. The trends concerning the regional distribution of the business tourism events organised by Hungarian clients noted in 2017 continued to be present: In 2018, more clients organised their conferences in the countryside (62.6%) than in the capital (37.4%) once again.
The most popular countryside destinations included the cities of Szeged, Pécs, Debrecen, Veszprém, and Székesfehérvár.
The 2017 statistical report introduced the thematical classification of these events, which was further expended in 2018 with a new topic: science.
Responses reflected figures similar to the 2017 data: In Budapest mostly commercial conferences were held, while in the countryside, healthcare conferences were more popular.
In 2018, conferences were shorter on average than in the previous year; however, the events were less seasonal, since most of them were organised in April, May, September, October and even November. Organisers continued to prefer hotels (63.6%) as the location for their events in 2018 as well; however the popularity of universities (2017: 11.3%; 2018: 12.6%) and congressional centres (2017: 6.4%; 2018: 9.7%) also increased compared to 2017.
The report of the Hungarian Convention Bureau looked at events with at least 50 attendees. The touristic service providers of the MICE industry provided the data regarding the events they hosted on a voluntary basis; therefore, the survey is not exhaustive.
The dynamic increase in the number of business tourism events observed over the past couple of years is also reflected in the annual rating compiled by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), in which Hungary (2017: 27th place) and Budapest (2017: 12th place) are finishing at higher and higher places each year. The ICCA recognised the committed work of the Hungarian Congress Office with an award as well, since the ICCA Researcher of the Year Award was granted to an associate of the Congress Office, Kitti Boros.
