Hungary recorded a total of 32 million tourists in 2020, ranking 10th in the world in absolute terms.
That smaller countries regularly perform lower in a comparison of the absolute number of guests, is obvious. By putting the tourist numbers in relation to the population of Hungary, the result is much more comparable picture: With 3.3 tourists per resident, Hungary ranked 20th in the world. In Eastern Europe, it ranked 2nd.
In 2020, Hungary generated around 4.22 billion US dollars in the tourism sector alone. This corresponds to 2.3 percent of its the gross domestic product and approximately 15 percent of all international tourism receipts in Eastern Europe.
The most popular city in Hungary for international travelers is Budapest. In 2019, it reached the 62nd place of the world's most popular cities with 4.03 million tourists.
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2020 spent about 113 US dollars. Conversely, the inhabitants of Hungary spend only around 89 dollars a year when they themselves spend vacations abroad.
Development of the tourism sector in Hungary from 1995 to 2020
The following chart shows the number of tourist arrivals registered in Hungary each year. Anyone who spends at least one night in the country but does not live there for more than 12 months is considered a tourist. Insofar as the survey included the purpose of the trip, business trips and other non-tourism travel purposes have already been excluded. The number of people passing through within the same day, and e.g., crew members of ships or flights are also not considered tourists in most countries. If the same person travels in and out more than once within the same year, each visit counts again.
Data in the chart are given in millions of tourists. The red line represents the average of all 10 countries in Eastern Europe.
Revenues from tourism
In 1995, tourism revenues amounted to 2.94 billion USD, or about 6.3 percent of the gross national product. This corresponded to about 39.24 million tourists at that time and roughly 75 USD per person. Within 25 years, the country's dependence on tourism has decreased slightly. Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales were $10.23 billion billion, 6.2 percent of gross national product. Thus, each visitor spent an average of $167 on their vacation in Hungary.
In 2020, tourist receipts plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the $10.23 billion billion (2019), only $4.22 billion billion remained. This is a 59 percent decrease in Hungary.
All data for Hungary in detail
Year
Number of tourists
Receipts
% of GNP
Receipts per tourist
2020
31.64 m
4.22 bn $
2.7 %
133 $
2019
61.40 m
10.23 bn $
6.2 %
167 $
2018
57.67 m
9.62 bn $
6.0 %
167 $
2017
54.96 m
8.45 bn $
5.9 %
154 $
2016
52.89 m
7.48 bn $
5.8 %
141 $
2015
48.35 m
6.93 bn $
5.5 %
143 $
2014
45.98 m
7.48 bn $
5.3 %
163 $
2013
43.61 m
6.67 bn $
4.9 %
153 $
2012
43.57 m
6.15 bn $
4.8 %
141 $
2011
41.30 m
7.24 bn $
5.1 %
175 $
2010
39.90 m
6.60 bn $
5.0 %
165 $
2009
40.62 m
7.01 bn $
5.3 %
173 $
2008
39.55 m
7.53 bn $
4.8 %
190 $
2007
39.38 m
5.63 bn $
4.0 %
143 $
2006
38.32 m
5.00 bn $
4.3 %
130 $
2005
36.17 m
4.76 bn $
4.2 %
132 $
2004
33.93 m
4.01 bn $
3.8 %
118 $
2003
31.41 m
4.12 bn $
4.8 %
131 $
2002
31.74 m
3.77 bn $
5.6 %
119 $
2001
30.68 m
4.19 bn $
7.8 %
137 $
2000
31.14 m
3.81 bn $
8.1 %
122 $
1999
28.80 m
3.62 bn $
7.4 %
126 $
1998
33.62 m
3.69 bn $
7.6 %
110 $
1997
37.32 m
3.82 bn $
8.1 %
102 $
1996
39.83 m
3.59 bn $
7.7 %
90 $
1995
39.24 m
2.94 bn $
6.3 %
75 $
Our data on tourist numbers, revenues and expenditures are based on information from the World Tourism Organization. However, to ensure international comparability, the data for some years or countries were manually researched and corrected if they obviously included visitors without overnight stays. In these cases, the data were taken from the official communications of the respective national tourism authorities.
The World Tourism Organization additionally points out that in some countries, the number of tourists is only counted at airports, while in others they are also counted at border crossings or even hotels. A comprehensive and reliable indication is therefore hardly possible in any country.
On average, each of the tourists arriving in 2020 spent about 113 US dollars. Conversely, the inhabitants of Hungary spend only around 89 dollars a year when they themselves spend vacations abroad.
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