Nyiregyhaza in Hungary, having in its offer two different attractions aimed at family tourists who like to drive to their place of residence in a maximum of a few hours by car (7 countries within reach), is able to quickly rebuild their position after the coronavirus pandemic.
Nyiregyhaza does not stand out from other cities of this size in the region. Slightly over 100,000 inhabitants, the capital of the Hungarian committee (province), located in the east of Hungary. Several dozen kilometers to the larger cities - Miskolc and Debrecen, the motorway connecting with Budapest, the proximity of Tokaj, the location of Nyiregyhaza in the landscape of grapevine fields make the city and the region, an attractive tourist destination for both the inhabitants of Hungary and the inhabitants of neighboring countries and those close to Nyiregyhaza - Poland, Czechia, Austria, Slovakia and Romania.
Balneology, baths, swimming pools and bathing establishments have been developing in Hungary since the 19th century. After World War I, deprived of access to the sea, Hungary expanded its network of swimming pools. Since the 1940s, Hungary has recorded significant sports successes in swimming and water polo. Due to the interest of Hungarians in swimming pools and baths, the first water parks were established there much earlier than in other countries of the region. When the boom for aquaparks took place - they were prepared for it and had the opportunity to use the trend in business.
The natural (raw material) advantage of Nyiregyhazy is the brine thermal water in the Sóstófürdő district. Iodine-bromine water extracted from the depth of 600-1000 m has healing properties in rheumatic diseases, diseases of the spine, joints and muscles. The history of the Hungarian bathing resort at Lake Sóstó dates back to 1927, and the Parkfürdő lake was established in the 1960s. In 2005, the water park (Elményfürdő) Aquarius with an area of 1.7 ha was built in the vicinity of the swimming pools. Since 2012, it has been connected with the open-air swimming pools and both are subject to a joint ticket and the name Aquarius.
The complex in Nyiregyhaza meets all the needs of the family tourist segment: a multitude of attractions related to water (swimming pools, artificial waves, slides, jacuzzi), low prices - both for infrastructure and gastronomy, is an attraction strongly focused on meeting the needs of active day-long leisure for families.
Sostofurdo Aquapark is not the only such place in the area, so it is not a unique tourist attraction of the city. In Debrecen there is the more modern Aquaticum Mediterrán Élményfürdő, and slightly behind Debrecen - in Hajduszoboszlo, an older swimming pool complex.
The USP of Nyiregyhazy's tourist destination is the Zoo. Established in 1974 near the spa town of Sóstófürdő, until the mid-1990s it was a small zoo presenting the animals of the Hungarian and the Pannonian Basin ecosystem. It has doubled the area to 35 hectares in the last twenty-few years, has 5,000 animals from 500 species from around the world, including a tropicarium and an aquarium with sharks, has become the largest zoo in the country. Along with the expansion of the zoo, a hotel infrastructure was created (29 facilities, including 14 hotels of various standards).
In the 21st century, the Zoo became a key element of the success of the city's tourist brand, it supplemented the existing spa and bathing advantages with a new, unique dimension. The 2020 pandemic has significantly hit tourist traffic, including water parks, but from 2021 there is again an increase of interest in this type of attractions.
Nyiregyhaza, having in its offer two different attractions aimed at family tourists who like to drive to their place of residence in a maximum of a few hours by car (7 countries within reach), is able to quickly rebuild their position after the coronavirus pandemic. Just like Zator In Poland, which offers both an amusement park (Energylandia) and a dinosaur park. It will rebuild its positions quicker than in Mszczonów or in other "unilateral" proposals. The difficult pandemic situation, the reduction of tourist traffic from outside the Central European region is the moment when opportunities can be used in the search for strong distinguishing features, USP responding to other needs of the segments (e.g. medical / health tourism / SPA).
At PAULAT, we create effective strategies for communicating territorial brands. Since 2007, we have conducted research and analysis in over 30 processes of identifying tourism products, creating a brand strategy and / or brand communication. Our insights are used to increase the effectiveness of promotional activities for such places as Sopot, Lower Silesia, Płock and Kołobrzeg.