BUDAPEST, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Hungary's tourism sector recorded a significant decline in August, with the number of guests falling 7.3 percent year-on-year and guest nights dropping by 5.8 percent, the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) said Wednesday.
Nearly 2.6 million guests spent 6.9 million nights at tourism accommodation establishments in Hungary during the month, according to KSH.
The decline was particularly pronounced among international visitors. The number of foreign guests fell 13 percent year-on-year to nearly 1.2 million, while nights spent by foreign visitors decreased 9.3 percent to almost 3.1 million.
Foreign guest numbers declined in all of Hungary's tourism regions. Budapest recorded a 15-percent decrease, while the number of foreign visitors to the Lake Balaton region fell by 14 percent.
However, domestic tourism proved more resilient, with the number of domestic guests declining 2.5 percent to 1.4 million and domestic guest nights falling 2.8 percent to nearly 3.9 million.
Private and other accommodation establishments registered particularly steep declines, with foreign guest numbers down 29 percent from a year earlier.
Portfolio, a leading Hungarian business news outlet, said the stronger forint may have contributed to the decline in domestic tourism, by making foreign travel relatively more attractive for Hungarian households, particularly amid perceptions of high accommodation prices at home. ■