Hungarian tourism posted another record year in 2025, with nearly 20 million visitors spending around 47 million nights at accommodation facilities across the country, the National Economy Ministry said in a commentary published on Wednesday.
The ministry said government measures including wage increases, tax cuts and efforts to curb price rises have helped leave more disposable income with households, allowing families to spend more on leisure and travel. Hungary’s popularity among both domestic and international travellers continued to grow, with visitor numbers rising by more than 7 per cent compared with 2024.
According to the ministry, the higher number of guests resulted in a record 47 million guest nights, exceeding the previous year’s peak by 4.3 per cent. Growth in guest numbers at commercial accommodation was nearly two and a half times the European Union average, placing Hungary well ahead of its regional competitors.
The number of foreign visitors rose by 12 per cent in 2025, more than double the growth recorded in Austria, more than five times that of Croatia, and significantly higher than the increase seen in the Czech Republic, the ministry said.
Tourism remains one of the key driving forces of the Hungarian economy, contributing more than 14 per cent of GDP and providing livelihoods for nearly 400,000 families. The government aims to further strengthen the sector through subsidised loans offered via the Kisfaludy Tourism Credit Centre, including financing with interest rates as low as 2.5 per cent for smaller tourism businesses.
The ministry also highlighted the launch of the KTH Start 2=3 scheme on 26 January, under which hospitality businesses applying for investment or working capital loans of between 1 and 2 million forints can receive up to an additional 1 million forints in non-refundable state support. A separate action plan worth 100 billion forints includes tax cuts, wage incentives and preferential loans for restaurants.
Data from the Central Statistical Office and the National Tourism Data Supply Centre show that more than 1.4 million guests stayed at tourist accommodation in December 2025, nearly 12 per cent more than a year earlier. Domestic guest numbers rose by 10.1 per cent to 604,000, while foreign arrivals increased by 13 per cent to 819,000.
Accommodation providers registered a total of 3.2 million nights in December, up 9.2 per cent year on year. Domestic guests accounted for 1.3 million nights, a rise of 6.6 per cent, while foreign visitors spent close to 2 million nights, 11 per cent more than in December 2024.
For the full year, more than 19.5 million guests stayed at Hungarian tourist accommodation, up 7.3 per cent from 2024. Including non-commercial, non-business accommodation, total visitor numbers reached the 20 million target set for the sector.
Domestic guests accounted for around 9.7 million visitors, a 3.2 per cent increase, while foreign arrivals reached 9.9 million, nearly 12 per cent higher than the previous year. A total of 46.8 million nights were registered in 2025, with domestic nights rising by 1.1 per cent to 22.5 million and foreign guest nights increasing by 7.5 per cent to 24.3 million.
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