Gábor Michalkó

Non-planning and tourism consumption in Budapest's inner city

ABSTRACT The relationship between urban planning and tourism consumption is presented through one of the most attractive and popular districts of Budapest (District VII). Budapest is the capital city of Hungary and has a population of 1.7 million inhabitants making it one of the largest metropolitan regions in Central Eastern Europe. Budapest is typical of many other post-socialist cities in that its urban development process has followed a somewhat different trajectory from many Western European cities until recently, for example the relatively slow rate of gentrification in the post-socialist years. The paper will focus in particular on one central district of the city (VII) which currently contains a high concentration of hospitality and entertainment facilities (especially ‘ruin pubs’) and attracts a large numbers of tourists. The planning and development history of the district will be explained, including many controversies and conflicts which have arisen over the years. In addition to analysing the significance of the areas’ heritage and the intensive growth of the creative industries, the paper will also provide a case study about the Budapest-specific ‘ruin bar’ phenomenon, as well as data on the global issue of Airbnb, which is becoming an extremely topical and controversial issue in many other cities in the world today. ‘Ruin bars’ and Airbnb represent local and global examples of tourism consumption which have flourished despite or even because of an unstructured, often unregulated urban planning system. Through this examination, two main questions are addressed: to what extent has planning (or a lack of it) influenced urban development and the new trends of international tourism in Budapest? and what role has tourism played in the transformation of a central district within the inner city?

Voices of the Fisher King: Narratives of older travellers’ religious journeys

Abstract Older adults in countries with a relatively high standard of living are regarded as a highly influential consumer segment. However, the economically disadvantaged, invalids and lone travelers all face a variety of external and internal barriers to travel and social interaction. By contrast, “quest archetype” journeys, such as religious tourism and pilgrimages, provide opportunities for companionship, whilst also helping to alleviate an individual’s negative perceptions of ageing and later life. The main objectives of the research were to explore how older adults report their archetypal experiences and how they are perceived by the young. The generic purposive sampling comprised 345 Hungarian respondents. In the multi-generational sample, in-depth interviews were carried out with the youngest (23%) and the oldest (21%) age groups to explore the different perceptions of ageing. Narrative segments were analyzed within the framework of one particular archetypal quest, the legend of the Holy Grail. The study here attempts advances knowledge of the best approaches to assessing those travel narratives which employ archetypal legends. At the same time, service providers in the field of religious tourism can also benefit from the results in their management of holy sites with the needs and wishes of the older generation in mind.

A vidékiesség vonzásában: a nagyvárosi agglomerációk láthatatlan turizmusa Magyarországon

The study aims to explore settlements involved in the so-called invisible tourism (i.e. not recorded by statistics) within urban agglomerations, by analyzing holiday function vs accommodation (hotel) turnover. We selected settlements with recreation function using the 2001 census and the 2002–2014 TeIR (Spatial Information System of Hungary) data, and analyzed discrepancies between tourism supply and demand in urban agglomerations involving 2015 data of Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH). There is a lack of studies about mobility generated by leisure, recreation and tourist activities inside urban agglomerations especially in terms of the relationship between the urban core and the settlements on the fringe providing “rural experiences”. While statistics record mostly tourism in the urban core, invisible tourism is typical to the satellite where the secondary home owners and the daily hikers/excursionists do not register accommodation. This research aims to identify the relationship between conventional (i.e. registered) and invisible tourism and the differences between selected Hungarian regional centers in this respect. While the Budapest agglomeration – the largest urban agglomeration in Hungary – provides the most advanced tourism infra- and suprastructure based on the difference between the urban and rural milieus, we can also trace similar processes in other regional urban centers. The comparison of second homes stock (weekend houses) and tourism flow data sets showed strong correlation for Pecs and Miskolc agglomerations. In the former case, Orfű, while in the latter, Bukkszentkereszt represents the symbiosis of conventional (registered) and invisible tourism. In the cases of Győr and Budapest agglomerations, we did not find such overlappings. On the other hand, Szentendre (within the Budapest agglomeration) represents the archetype of invisible tourism: it has a high unrecorded tourist turnover coupled with an oversupply of registered accommodations and few registered hotel nights combined with a high number of second homes. Tourist attractions, generating one-day trips, do not generate a weekend house belt but nature, waterfronts and a rural milieu can be a base for second homes within an urban agglomeration.

The tourist experience of domestic VFR travellers: the case of Hungary

Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) is the main driver of domestic travel in many countries. This study is one of the first to analyse VFR travel from a perspective of tourist experience. This study aims to investigate the complex dynamics behind VFR-related travel, especially in aspects of trip activities and tourist experience formation. Based on a survey (N = 879) examining domestic VFR travellers’ trip activities in Hungary, the paper discusses the formation of a tourist experience in context of short-haul domestic VFR travel, especially the role of influencing factors. The results reveal differences between the segments with trip motivation of visiting friends (VF) and visiting relatives (VR) – the two main types of VFR tourists. It was found that independent variables such as VF, staying for longer and participating in leisure and tourism-type activities have a positive effect on tourist experience evolvement; however, factors such as VR, being rather passive during such a visit and focusing on social acts and bonding negatively affect the formulation of a tourist experience. The paper’s novelty and uniqueness lies in applying a new perspective of analysing and discussing VFR travel: the theoretical concept of tourist experience formation.