The Hungarian hospitality industry is benefiting from its value positioning and broader visitor base, but future growth will depend on balancing affordability with rising costs, expanding demand beyond Budapest and converting strong visitor numbers into long-term profitability.
Hungary’s hotel sector saw a positive shift in its 2025 performance, driven by the rising popularity of Budapest, relatively low costs and marketing efforts to attract non-European Union visitors. Yet beneath the headline gains, currency dynamics and uneven regional performance continue to weigh on the sector, leaving hotels short of a full post-pandemic recovery, according to sources.
Last year was generally stable for hoteliers, thanks to continuing growth in inbound tourism. Budapest showed the strongest performance dynamics, although outside the capital the figures were mixed.
Recent cost-of-living crises in Europe have seen guests turn to Hungarian hotels, with a move to more affordable travel destinations, hoteliers said.
“Compared to many Western European capitals, Budapest still offers very strong value for money in terms of accommodation, dining and culture,” said Tamás Nehéz, general manager of the 48-room Verno House Budapest, Vignette Collection. “This makes Hungary attractive for European travelers who are more price sensitive but still wish to enjoy high-quality experiences. In this sense, Hungary benefits from being perceived as an accessible destination without compromising on richness or diversity."
While pricing has helped sustain demand, it may not be sufficient on its own to underpin future growth, others cautioned.
Several other factors secured robust operational performance, including excellent connectivity and the country’s rich historical heritage, said Zoltan Szabo, hospitality consultant at business advisory Cushman & Wakefield.
But changing economic winds to some extent eroded the exceptional economic attractiveness of visiting Hungary, hoteliers added.
“Sustained high inflation in recent years, coupled with the Hungarian forint’s appreciation against the euro across 2025, has resulted in rising costs for international travelers, making visits increasingly expensive,” Szabo said. “Nevertheless, tourism figures suggest that these have not deterred travelers from visiting the country and its capital."
The start of 2026 has shown encouraging signs.
The first weeks of the year have proved to be exceptionally busy for the 38-room Hotel Rum Budapest, said Franciska Forrai, its management assistant.
Still, Hungary is yet to reach its pre-COVID-19 performance indicators, according to CoStar data.
During the first 11 months of 2025, branded-hotel occupancy was 71.9%, up from 69% in the same period in 2024 but notably below the 78.4% seen during the same period in 2019.
For the same period, average daily rate climbed by to 46,500 Hungarian forint ($140.20), significantly exceeding the HUF28,900 reported in 2019, while revenue per available room jumped 6.2% to HUF33,400 last year. This was nearly a third higher than the HUF22,650 recorded in 2019.
Budapest’s occupancy of 72.7% is only slightly ahead of the curve.
The capital’s ADR and RevPAR stand, respectively, at HUF48,200 ($145.30) and HUF35,000 ($105.51) across that same 11 months of 2025.
Looking beyond Europe
A key question for the sector is whether Hungary can successfully expand into high-spending non-EU source markets, particularly China, sources said.
As part of that effort, national marketing agency Visit Hungary signed a memorandum of understanding with WeChat in October 2025 to integrate digital payments across tourism, retail and hospitality services, with that initiative aimed at making it easier for Chinese visitors to use familiar mobile payment systems.
Hungary’s relatively strong political ties with China are being leveraged to support tourism flows. The partnership can provide tangible support for the growing Hungarian hospitality sector, according to hoteliers and analysts.
The Chinese market is particularly significant, as it was one feeder market that had displayed dynamic growth before the pandemic and continues to hold substantial potential.
Such initiatives are focused on attracting high-spending Asian guests and represent a natural extension of services in an increasingly globalized market, added Cushman & Wakefield’s Szabo.
Throwing its net wider is already showing benefits.
Verno House Budapest’s Nehéz said that China and Gulf Cooperation Council countries such as Saudi Arabia now are in the top five Hungarian feeder markets.
As one of the largest markets in the Central and Eastern European region, Hungary has long been a favored destination for Asian travelers, Szabo said, although he added the investment landscape in Hungary, dominated by local players, is unlikely to change dramatically.
“Western buyers are active but less aggressive on pricing compared to local investors. Since 2020, nearly two-thirds of hotel transactions in Hungary have been funded by domestic sources,” Szabo said.