Several thousand jobs will also be created as result of the planned investments. Lake Constance, Lake Geneva and Lake Garda are the models for the major infrastructure development. The investments are to be secured using “classic property financing”. That means that SCD hopes to finance 25% of the project from its own capital, with the rest of the money coming from a combination of bank loans, international investors and EU funding.
State intervention
In addition to SCD’s initiative, the state also wants to promote high-quality tourism at Lake Balaton. The Ministry for Local Government and Regional Development recently drew up the Balaton flagship programme. If it is approved by the Socialist-liberal coalition, another HUF 100 billion will be available for a series of infrastructure projects between 2007 and 2013, with the European Union picking up the tab. The flagship programme includes improving basic tourism infrastructure like transport, hotels and beach facilities.
The improvements will also tackle entertainment at the lake with the construction of golf courses, the renovation of existing landing stages and the promotion of wine and horse riding tourism. The aim of the programme it to raise the standards of long neglected tourist facilities at the lake to a “European level”.
Lake Balaton has also been accessible by air for a few years. There are regular budget flights between Sármellék (at the south west end of the lake) and 13 destinations in Western and Southern Europe, particularly Germany. Now there are concrete plans to use the former military airport, Szentkirályszabadja-Veszprém, north of the lake for further discount flights. The owner of the airfield, an international consortium, is planning to invest up to HUF 15 billion (EUR 59.25 million) in the project. Some 150,000 passengers a year are expected to pass through Szentkirályszabadja from 2009.
Property slump
After the boom years of the ‘90s, the Balaton property market has experienced a sustained slump since 2001. German owners of holiday homes are particularly eager to sell off their properties. The average price for a property on the south shore of the Balaton is currently over HUF 10 million (EUR 40,000) and over HUF 15 million (EUR 60,000) on the north shore. In the first quarter of this year the number of guest nights spent at the Balaton rose by 51,000. In 2006 the total number of guest nights was 872,000. The upward trend in terms of guest nights is likely to continue in the summer, given that the quality of the water is much better than it has been for a long time.
Firms not sold on season
Businesses at Balaton see it rather differently. “The pre-season has got off to a bad start. There are hardly any foreign tourists, and Hungarians tend only to come to the lake at the weekend. The restaurants are empty during the week and the beaches are deserted,” complained Peter Wolf, a local business owner.
The official season, however, only begins at the end of June. Only then is Wolf expecting more tourists and a similar boom to last year. The 2006 summer at Balaton also had a sluggish start, but by the beginning of July the lake had once again become a popular holiday destination – at least for Hungarians. A non-representative survey by The Budapest Times, however, showed that just 10% of respondents intended to spend their summer holiday at the Balaton.
