In 2025, tourism closed another record-breaking year: nearly 20 million guests spent around 47 million nights at accommodation establishments in Hungary, the Ministry for National Economy highlighted in its commentary published on Wednesday alongside the latest tourism data.
Hungary’s popularity among both domestic and international travelers continues to grow steadily. In 2025, nearly 20 million guests enjoyed leisure time in Hungary, representing an increase of over 7 percent compared to 2024. The unprecedented number of visitors spent a total of approximately 47 million guest nights at domestic accommodation establishments, exceeding the results of the 2024 record year by 4.3 percent, the ministry cited.
Compared with the same month a year earlier, the number of foreign visitors rose most sharply in the Budapest surroundings, up 25 percent, while the steepest decline was recorded in Gyula and its wider area, where numbers fell by 7.3 percent.
Budapest saw a 14 percent increase in foreign arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments, while foreign visitor numbers at Lake Balaton were up 18 percent.
The Festetics Castle in Keszthely, at Lake Balaton. Photo: Pixabay
They emphasized that in 2025, compared to the average growth rate of EU member states, the number of guests at commercial accommodation establishments in Hungary increased by nearly two and a half times that average. Hungary not only significantly outperformed the EU average but also surpassed its main competitors. The number of foreign guests grew by 12 percent.
This is more than double the growth rate of Austria, more than five times that of Croatia, and significantly exceeds the expansion seen in the Czech Republic.
Tourism is one of the most important driving forces of the Hungarian economy, contributing over 14 percent of GDP and providing a livelihood for nearly 400,000 families, the ministry noted.
Lake Balaton. Photo: Hungary Today
Based on data from the Central Statistical Office (KSH) and the National Tourism Data Supply Center (NTAK), over 1.4 million guests arrived at tourist accommodation establishments in December 2025, nearly 12 percent more than in the same period of 2024. The number of domestic guests was 604,000, 10.1 percent higher than in the last month of 2024. A total of 819,000 guests arrived from abroad, exceeding the December 2024 figure by 13 percent.
Number of guest nights (2023-2025).Source: MTI/KSH
Accommodation establishments registered a total of 3.2 million guest nights, 9.2 percent more than in December 2024. Domestic guests spent 1.3 million nights at accommodation establishments, 6.6 percent higher than in December 2024, while the nearly 2 million nights spent by foreign guests exceeded the result of the last month of the previous year by 11 percent.
Based on the latest data, over 19.5 million guests arrived at tourist accommodation establishments in Hungary last year, exceeding the 2024 result by 7.3 percent.
In addition, preliminary estimates by the KSH show that the guest traffic of non-business-purpose accommodation establishments outside the scope of tourist accommodation contributed over 400,000 people to the total number of guests in 2025, reaching the target figure of 20 million guests last year.
Bakony Mountains in the winter of 2025. Photo: Hungary Today
The number of domestic guests at tourist accommodation establishments was approximately 9.7 million, that is 3.2 percent higher than the previous year.
A total of 9.9 million guests arrived from abroad, their number nearly 12 percent higher than in 2024.
In 2025, 46.8 million guest nights were registered at tourist accommodation establishments, 4.3 percent more than in 2024. Domestic guests spent 22.5 million nights at accommodation establishments, 1.1 percent more than in 2024. The 24.3 million guest nights spent by tourists from abroad exceeded the 2024 figure by 7.5 percent.
Via MTI, Featured image: Pixabay
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