This summer, more and more defining festivals begin in the city. There is no shortage of programs, nor is there any attraction when it comes to Debrecen. Our newspaper asked Gábor Gődény, the managing director of VisitDebrecen Turistikai Nonprofit Kft., About the expected trends in tourism.

– The first quarter was very strong, especially April. Hotels reported previous seasonal occupancy and traffic results. This was apparently due to the large number of hotel guests fleeing Ukraine, who typically booked their accommodation at a high price at the last minute for a few days. Not only will the booking figures not fall as the refugee wave subsides, and the months of May and summer are reassuring. Even with the already exceptionally high results of 2019, there is a good chance this year, the expert said.

They spend less

He added tourists now visiting the city are typically domestic guests. – It is a global phenomenon that, with the lifting of epidemic restrictions, the demand for short, self-sufficient destinations will increase for the first time. It is only gratifying that a large number of Israeli guests are coming to the city, and a direct flight from Debrecen to Tel Aviv will be relaunched in March. Many tourists are arriving now who have previously bought a flight and booked accommodation, but have not been able to do so so far due to restrictive measures and flight suspensions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Gábor Gődény put it this way, it seems tendentious that even in hotels with a lower occupancy rate (even if the number of guest stays is not), the realized sales revenue is higher than in the record before the epidemic risk.

Fewer tourists spend more in our city. This is partly due to changes in travel habits, as many people postpone travel decisions to the last minute due to the uncertainties surrounding travel, which means higher room rates and thus higher average revenue for hotels.

– He told.

An eternal problem

Labor shortages will remain an eternal problem in the entire service sector, so the impact will not be spared on tourism and the hotel industry in particular, the expert explained. – The coronavirus epidemic has only culminated in trouble, as many have decided to change careers, these outgoing colleagues are most missing from the sector. Nevertheless, you will not be able to see anything in the service level of the hotels in Debrecen. The challenge for hotel managements is rather the negative impact of high inflation and the new general price increase that makes purchases more expensive, which is passed on to the hotel guests.

Even in the short term, there is a significant increase in the price of room prices and hotel services for the traveling public.

Success and growth with events

As we learned from Gábor Gődény, the rooms of the new hotel, operated by the Accor hotel chain, are now available in the reservation systems with a reservation in September. “With its sheer appearance, global market presence and customer base, the new hotel will generate additional demand, which will further increase the number of guest nights in the city,” he said. – The big summer events, ie the Drive Festival, the Debrecziner Gourmet Festival, the Campus Festival, the Debrecen Wine and Jazz Days, the Debrecen Flower Carnival and the Zamat Festival are already promising, with a more colorful program, two performers and more they breathe a sigh of relief at their burdensome preparation problems.

PSZ