GEOTOUR & IRSE 2012.pdf - Fakulta BERG - TUKE

Salgótarján, 04. – 06. October 2012
Demjén every settlement had commercial accommodation establishments. Values have been
marked in gray that exceeded the regional average. Eger and Miskolc are big cities with a
complex supply of tourist attractions their performance are effected by several factors beyond
thermal tourism. In the case of other settlements bath reconstructions or newly developed
resorts meant significant growth especially when development of accommodation occurred in
the same area. Competition is strengthening resorts without significant investments have
found themselves on the periphery (Bükkszék, Gyöngyös, Szerencs, Tarnaméra, Mezőcsát,
Pásztó).
POSSIBLE SOURCES OF DEVELOPMENT
In the last two decades significant developments took place in the region. New or totally
modernized (Tiszaújváros, Eger, Egerszalók, Miskolc, Sárospatak Demjén) or partially
renovated baths (Bogács, Mezőkövesd) can be found in the region but several old fashioned
resorts have definitely less visitors than 20-30 years ago. It can be a good question where the
further sources of investments can come from. I think this question can be answered better on
(micro)-regional level. A settlement is often has so few tourist attractions that a combination
of a bigger area can attract tourists more effectively for a bit longer stay.
In my earlier research „The processes of regional tourism context, in particular the North-
Hungarian region‟ with the help of principal component analysis I was able to group the
indicators that are associated with the development of the number of guest nights. Four factors
were crated:
1. economic activity factor
2. tourism supply factor
3. regional attractiveness factor
4. regional social situation factor
The “tourism supply” and “economic activity” factors appeared significantly in the model
based on the results of the principal component analysis. The model can explain the specific
values of the micro-regional guest night numbers at 68.3%. It is not appropriate to judge the
micro-regions‟ position exclusively on the basis of that categorization, since the values of the
categories range between considerably wide boundaries; therefore, I classified the microregions
using cluster analysis.
The Eger micro-region is a distinct „group‟ on the basis of the eigenvalues of the “economic
activity” and “tourism supply” factors, where the “economic activity” and “tourism supply”
are above average. The micro-region‟s level of “economic activity” is more favorable than its
(at regional level) already outstanding “tourism supply”. The capital necessary to develop
tourism supply may come from internal sources as well. There are investors from outside due
to its fame, visitor turnover and growth potential, and further investment is expected. It is
necessary to improve the efficiency of the sector, to enhance the region‟s (foreign)
recognition and to establish new (artificial) tourism attractions in order to keep up the pace of
growth.
The Tokaj micro-region is a similar „group‟ with its, outstanding tourism supply (for the
region), that far outweighs its economic potential. The resources of tourism development
come from the region only to a lesser extent. There are a significant number of domestic and
foreign investors, primarily in the area of wine production and accommodation, due to its
growth potential as well as the domestic and international awareness of the name “Tokaj”.
There is a chance to gain resources for the establishment of new/artificial attractions from
state sources in order to enhance to a greater extent the micro-region‟s visitor turnover. Due to
the nature of the tendering systems, primarily local governmental initiatives will bring quality
change in the region.
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