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A total of 1.4 million guests spent 3.2 million tourism nights at commercial, private and other accommodation establishments in December. Tourist arrivals rose 12% from a year earlier, while tourism nights increased by 9.2%. On a seasonally adjusted basis, arrivals were up 9.3% and overnight stays climbed 6.2% compared with December 2024.
Commercial accommodation accounted for 70% of all guests, with arrivals at these establishments rising 11% year-on-year. Private and other accommodation providers recorded an even stronger increase, welcoming 14% more visitors than in the same month of 2024.
Domestic tourism also strengthened in December, with arrivals rising 10% and tourism nights increasing 6.6% compared with a year earlier. Seasonally adjusted figures show domestic arrivals up 4.7% and overnight stays up 3.8% year-on-year.
Some 604,000 domestic guests generated nearly 1.3 million tourism nights nationwide. Commercial accommodation establishments hosted 466,000 of these visitors, accounting for around 1.0 million overnight stays. Hotels received 85% of domestic arrivals at commercial properties, posting a 12% increase from December 2024.
Private and other accommodation establishments saw domestic arrivals grow by 7.9%.
Domestic visitor numbers increased in every tourism region. The strongest growth was recorded in the Pécs area, where arrivals jumped 24%. Budapest registered an 11% rise in domestic arrivals, while Lake Balaton posted a 12% increase.
International tourism also delivered robust growth. Foreign arrivals rose 13% year-on-year in December, while international tourism nights increased by 11%. Adjusted for seasonal effects, arrivals were up 11% and overnight stays climbed 8.9% compared with December 2024.
A total of 819,000 international guests spent nearly 2.0 million tourism nights in Hungary during the month. Commercial accommodation establishments received 527,000 foreign visitors, who generated approximately 1.3 million overnight stays. Hotels accounted for 87% of these arrivals, with guest numbers rising 8.4% from a year earlier.
Foreign arrivals at private and other accommodation establishments increased by 17%.
Regionally, international arrivals rose the most in Greater Budapest, up 25%, while the Gyula area saw the steepest decline, down 7.3%. Overall, international arrivals were 14% higher in Budapest and 18% higher at Lake Balaton compared with December 2024.
In total, 22,889 tourist accommodation establishments welcomed guests in December, including 2,130 commercial properties and 20,759 private or other accommodation providers. Among commercial operators, 931 hotels and 882 boarding houses were open for part or all of the month.
Gross sales revenue across all accommodation establishments reached HUF 103.9 billion, representing a 14% increase at current prices year-on-year.
Spending via the Széchenyi Recreation Card also continued to rise, with cardholders paying HUF 3.0 billion at accommodation establishments in December, up 13% in nominal terms from a year earlier.
For the full year 2025, tourist accommodation establishments recorded 19.5 million arrivals, an increase of 7.3% compared with 2024.
Domestic arrivals rose by 3.2% to nearly 9.7 million, while international arrivals surged 12% to approximately 9.9 million, underscoring the continued recovery and expansion of Hungary’s inbound tourism market.
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