AFTER MASS TOURISM... THE TRANSFORMATION OF TOURISM AT LAKE BALATON IN THE LAST THIRTY YEARS
AFTER MASS TOURISM... THE TRANSFORMATION OF TOURISM AT LAKE BALATON IN THE LAST THIRTY YEARS

Summary/Abstract: Lake Balaton is the largest lake in Central Europe and one of the most important Hungarian tourist destinations. In the 1970-80s, it had a dual function according to the economic policy goals. First, it had to meet the needs of mass tourism in Hungary, and secondly, it played a major role in the production of foreign currency from the West. In addition, Balaton was an important meeting point for citizens of the two German states of the time. The quality of the services was adapted to the needs of the millions of visitors annually. However, the situation of Lake Balaton changed after the regime change in 1990. State ownership could be no longer maintained and privatisation introduced the private sector model. There was little or no possibility for the former central or large-scale corporate recreation. As a result of political and economic changes and the significant drop in inflation and real incomes, tourism at Lake Balaton declined spectacularly, especially the large number of foreign tourists disappeared from the system. However, the potential of the lake has attracted renewed attention in recent decades. Since the 2000s, and especially since EU accession, more and more people have turned to it. This required a central vision of its situation, as well as local development plans based on long-term strategic objectives. The study shows how private capital, municipal and EU funds have changed over the last two decades. These developments can be seen in the transformation of the infrastructure, the construction of water and sewerage systems, transport improvements, the construction of hotels, the creation of a quality catering system, the organisation of programmes to boost visitor numbers, and last but not least, changes in the visitor base. All this has made the region more popular again, the second most visited tourist destination in Hungary.

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