The power of domestic tourism – The attractiveness of Budapest in the light of the opinion of domestic visitors
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15170/MM.2021.56.01.05Keywords:
pandemic, domestic tourism, experiential travel, BudapestAbstract
THE AIMS OF THE PAPER
The global coronavirus epidemic has been fundamentally changing the way how tourist destinations, and especially those that depends on international tourist traffic operates. In recent years, the Hungarian capital has largely based its budget on foreign guests. Due to travel restrictions, the number of international tourist arrivals in Budapest decreased significantly in 2020 and causing crisis situation in the capitals’ tourism. The objective of our study is to give an overall picture of the crisis of urban crisis due to pandemic and the to analyse the possibilities of renewal, particularly how to target the domestic tourists.
METHODOLOGY
The dependence on foreign tourists can be balanced by attracting domestic tourists to Budapest, which requires getting to know this segment. Members of this target group are looking for different experiences during their visit to the capital, which were examined in a qualitative survey of more than 100 respondents. The main goal of the research was to explore the opinions of each age group about Budapest, the factors that support and hinder their travels to the capital, and the experience promises that appeal them.
MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS
It became apparent based on the research that the Hungarian travellers, especially before the pandemic, visited the capital at least once a year, or even more, but typically do not spend the night there. The pandemic changed the habits of frequent visitors the most, they came to the capital every six months after a monthly regularity. The image of the capital is quite diverse: particularly the older and young adults have a positive image about the city. Among the motivations, cultural attractions, events, and visiting friends are definitely important, while barriers include the perception that the capital is expensive, the crowd in the city and the negative attitudes towards big cities, and limited leisure time.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on our results, those tourism products and experience elements can be explored which can increase the domestic tourism demand of Budapest in the long run.
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