Strategic Cooperation Agreement was signed between the Hungarian Tourism Agency (HTA) and the Hungarian Garden Heritage Foundation (HGHF) that includes mutual support for marketing communication, development of a rating system for national garden heritage and promotion of garden heritage sites as tourist attractions at home and abroad.
The HTA and the HGHF has signed an agreement to boost domestic garden tourism. The document declares that our historical gardens and gardens of historical value make significant part of our cultural heritage. The short-term goal of the parties is to create the Hungarian Historical Garden Routes and to display them on printed and mobile application maps completed with additional features. Strategic cooperation includes the development of a rating system for national garden heritage, cooperation in tourist guide training and support for the professional activities of Tourinform offices. Launch of a post-graduate course on maintenance and management of historical gardens is also part of the plans, which could be carried out with the participation of the Budapest Business School and the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Dr. Zoltán Guller, CEO of the HTA emphasized the following: “There is an increasing demand for quality, close-to-nature activities linked to cultural tourism. It is important for the quality of garden tourism products to reach Western European levels. It requires an effective cooperation between the stakeholders in tourism, such as the agreement between HTA and HGHF.”
Dr. Ágnes Herczeg, president of the HGHF stated: “The HGHF has broad scientific contacts countrywide, and extensive professional contacts abroad. Its aim is to have garden heritage treated properly, the protection and development of which is based on garden tourism to a great extent nowadays. As an important pillar of sustainability, the cooperation with the HTA contributes to the recreation of the Hungarian garden heritage.
There are almost two thousand gardens in our country with significant natural, cultural and landscape heritage, and they represent a great potential for tourism. In recent years, several palaces and castles have been renovated under the National Palace and Castle Programme. Today, garden tourism is a product which prolongs the visit and inspires new journey. According to a recent survey, 93% of the trips to historical gardens and arboreta also include some additional programme.
In Hungary, out of the 175 most significant tourist attractions identified by the HTA the most visited parks, which are also significant for garden tourism, include the Gödöllő Royal Palace, the Festetics Palace in Keszthely and the Almásy Mansion Visitor Centre in Gyula. These three attractions had more than 762,000 visitors in the summer of 2021, 96% of which were domestic visitors.
