The Touristic Importance of Gyula Region in the New Destination Structure Defined in 2020

From Past to Present

Abstract

The management system and organisational structure of national tourism fundamentally was renewed in Hungary in 2016, which had several new elements. The five determined ’important tourism development areas’ as destinations became the new frame for developing tourism in 2016 and 2017. Destination system was also renewed in 2020, when not only the official names and territorial range were overviewed, but also eleven destinations were created and six new ones were determined. Among these destinations the Gyula region consists of the least number of settlements only two (Gyula and Békéscsaba). The article focuses on the research questions of what processes and events led to the creation of the current tourist offer of the two municipalities of Gyula tourist region and how the area performed in the years 2020-2022. By examining the socio-economic changes in the two settlements after the Second World War, the roots of the current level of tourism development are explored. The analysis of the statistical data series available from the Central Statistical Office and the National Tourism Data Supply Centre are used to analyse the specificities of the period 2020-2022. Since the two cities have different tourist characteristics, they cannot be considered major competitors, and in fact Békéscsaba’s dominant position in business tourism can be well complemented by the spa services offered in Gyula. In both municipalities surveyed, tourism operators faced challenges due to travel restrictions resulting from the COVID pandemic, but the dominant domestic visitor share in the tourist area meant that guests returned quickly after the closures.