Hungarian Conservative

After Hamas brutally attacked Israel on 7 October, the refugee camp on the shore of Lake Balaton in Hungary was converted into a safe haven for Israeli Jews who wanted to escape with their families from the horrors of war. The camp now houses around 250 people, including 100 children, most of whom have fled from Israel since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

As reported on motogp.com, under the previously signed and now updated agreement, Dorna and HUMDA aim to have the Balaton Park Circuit included as a venue in the 2024 Superbike World Championship calendar, where it would serve as a reserve venue in the MotoGP programme. Starting from 2025, MotoGP races would be held at the Hungaroring.

Blue sky above, turquoise lake below, and between them, on the horizon, plenty of white sails gleaming in the distance. This is the image of Lake Balaton that millions of Hungarians have seen for generations, and which always draws them back to the shores of the ‘Hungarian Sea’.

The tragedy occurred at the 28th annual Börgönd Aeroplane Day, claiming the lives of the 67-year-old pilot and his 37-year-old son also on board. A criminal investigation has been launched to find out what caused the incident.

The robust recovery of inbound tourism greatly contributed to the positive tourism results in July. Compared to the same month last year, nearly a fifth more foreign guests, totalling 900,000, overnighted in Hungary.

Year after year, tens of thousands of Hungarians make a pilgrimage to the Balaton Uplands, considered by many to be the most beautiful Hungarian region. Dear international reader, if you would like to come to Hungary, but you are already bored with Budapest—head to the Balaton Uplands, and recharge your batteries!

Norbert Lobenwein, one of the founders of the festival, stated that despite preparing for survival before the season, the Strand Festival started its first day with a full house and a lot of people are expected for the weekend as well.

Among buyers from abroad, Germans are the most active. Of transactions facilitated by real estate agency Otthon Centrum, 30 per cent of foreign buyers came from Germany, followed by Slovaks and with Romanians in the third place.

According to the latest data from an online accommodation platform, the current volume of summer bookings in Hungary is still 19 per cent below last year’s record summer, and it falls just below the pre-pandemic level of 2019.

President Novák is known to be an avid outdoors person, who likes to hike, ride and run in her free time. Demonstrating a new talent, she was among the 9,500 participants to swim across Lake Balaton from Révfülöp to Balatonboglár last Sunday.

When Magyar Krónika asked their readers which building they thought was the most beautiful in Hungary, nine out of ten respondents said it was the Hungarian Parliament. However, it is not only in the capital where we can find impressive edifices—the journal has compiled a list of some of the most beautiful sites to visit in the countryside.

With the arrival of the summer season, it has become highly disputed in the Hungarian press whether Lake Balaton tourism is decreasing or growing.

In a recent interview with business news site Világgazdaság, Hungarian Tourism Agency CEO Péter Horváth highlighted that the number of guest nights booked by foreign visitors to Hungary is on the rise, while domestic tourism has shrunk, which is in line with international trends in the industry. On the whole, however, the total number of nights booked has increased by four per cent in the first five months compared to last year.

‘Places that present imported ideas instead of independent cultural achievements, fish and champagne from far away instead of their own produce, and have a tourist industry instead of hospitality, will inevitably fall behind.’

The brand new modern racetrack at Lake Balaton is ready to host any motorsport event except for Formula 1 and MotoGP races.

The Balaton Uplands National Park plays an important part in the Veszprém-Balaton project of the European Capital of Culture programmes.

Tourism numbers in Hungary massively outperformed the expectations for 2022. The data showed that the industry reached levels close to those recorded before the pandemic.

‘Machne Chabad’, the kosher Rescue Village hosting Ukrainian Jewish Refugees in Hungary is the largest Jewish rescue camp in Europe, open to all Jews fleeing the war.