At the 30th Tourism Gala Year Opener, organized by Turizmus Kft, Navracsics said the cultural and tourism urban development strategy involving Veszprém and the region could be a "catalyst for growth in leaps and bounds". The program serves to strengthen the identity of local communities, making tourism, image management, city rehabilitation, as well as industry and job creation priorities, he added.

Similar programs have boosted tourism 20%-30%, while lifting regional GDP 3%-5% and feeding into national GDP in the following years, he said.

Around 3,000 events have been organized in the framework of the Veszprem-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture program.

The European Union designates European Capitals of Culture each year to highlight the diversity of cultures in Europe and celebrate the cultural features Europeans share. The other cities sharing the designation in 2023 are Elefsina, Greece, and Timisoara, in Romania.

The city of Pécs (169 km southwest of Budapest) was a European Capital of Culture in 2010.