REGIONAL ACTION PLAN Budapest, Pest …transdanube.eu/uploads/contenteditor/Regional_Action_Plans/TD_PP4... · 3.2.3 SWOT-analysis ... Pest belong to the area of the DKÜ.3 The Szentendre

Sustainable Transport and Tourism along the Danube www.transdanube.eu

WP 4 / Action 4.1

West Pannon Regional and Economic Development

Public Nonprofit Ltd

30/04/2014

REGIONAL ACTION PLAN

Budapest, Pest megye

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1 TABLE OF CONTENTS

2 REGIONAL STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY IN TOURISM ............................................................................... 3

2.1 OBJECTIVES .......................................................................................................................................................................... 3

3 REGIONAL FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS ....................................................................................................................... 7

3.1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7

3.2 STATUS QUO ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................................................................... 8

3.2.1 Transportation ........................................................................................................................................................... 8 3.2.2 Tourism .................................................................................................................................................................... 10 3.2.3 SWOT-analysis ......................................................................................................................................................... 12 3.2.4.Gap Analysis ............................................................................................................................................................ 14

4 REGIONAL ACTION PLAN .......................................................................................................................................... 32

4.1.CATALOGUE OF DEVELOPMENT MEASURES .............................................................................................................................. 32

4.2 EVALUATION OF DEVELOPMENT MEASURES ............................................................................................................................. 34

4.3 CONSULTATION PROCESS ...................................................................................................................................................... 39

4.4 PRIORISATION OF REALIZABLE DEVELOPMENT MEASURES ......................................................... FEHLER! TEXTMARKE NICHT DEFINIERT.

5 ANNEX ...................................................................................................................................................................... 40

LIST OF REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................................... 40

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS ............................................................................................................ FEHLER! TEXTMARKE NICHT DEFINIERT.

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2 REGIONAL STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY IN TOURISM

2.1 Objectives

Objective 1.1. The permeation of the sustainable transport methods in the action area

- The development of the railway connection in the action area.

- The development of the international connections of the action area.

- The creation and maintenance of the infrastructure serving the needs of the

green transport methods entirely.

- The development of the accessibility of the touristic destinations in the action area.

Minimum standards

to be achieved

(until 2020):

- The increase of the rate of the passengers travelling by train and HÉC

(commuter rail) by 10%.

- The increase of the number of the tourists from abroad (20%)

- The increase of the business of the bicycle renting enterprises (25%)

- The increase of the bicycle road network (15%).

- The increase of the number of the Intermodal intersections (20%) .

Sustainable mobility in

tourism

Objective 1.1. The permeation of the

usage of the sustainable transport methods in the action

area.

Objective 1.2. The development of

sustainable touristic products in the action

area.

Objective 2.1. Quality information services, and the creation of a

unified touristic brand.

Objective 3.1. The development of the suitable financial, organisational and

legal background to foster the development

of tourism.

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Definition of

indicators to

monitor the

progress in

achieving the

defined objectives:

- The increase of the rate of the bicycle infrastructure network (in %).

- The indicators of theair, soil and water pollution.

- The number of thespent nights by the guests from abroad.

- The number of accidents.

- The rate of the guests arriving without their cars.

- The decrease of the average travel time of the passengers arriving by public

transport methods.

Objective 1.2. The creation of the sustainable transport methods in the action area

- The creation of thetouristic packages, the development of the offers, and their

linking.

- The development of the active tourism.

- The development of the water tourism.

Minimum standards

to be achieved

(until 2020):

- The increase of the number of thenights spent in the hotels by 10%.

- The increase of the number of thevisitors of theprogrammes by 20%

- The increase of the bicycle tourism by 25%.

- The increase of the touristic destinations (10%).

- The increase of the number of thevisitors of thetouristic destinations (15%).

The increase of the number of the trainings regarding the environment conscious way of living (10%).

Definition of

indicators to

monitor the

progress in

achieving the

defined objectives:

- The number of visitors.

- The increase of the number of thespent nights in hotels.

- The increase of the average spent time.

- The increase of the rate of thereturning tourists.

- The increase of the number of thecultural events.

- The increase of the possibilities to spend leisure time.

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Objective 2.1. The offer of quality information services, the development of a common touristic

brand

- The creation and the maintenance of the area specific image, the development

of the incentives.

- The installation and the development of theinformation systems.

Minimum standards

to be achieved

(until 2020):

- The increase of the information points (15%).

- The appearance of mobile applications about the area (50%).

- The increase of the marketing activities in the media. (10%).

Definition of

indicators to

monitor the

progress in

achieving the

defined objectives:

- Changes in the number of population living outside the region, who know about

the touristic products of the action area.

- The number of the media presence (articles in newspapers, advertisements,

promotional materials).

- The creation of a local brand.

- The number of the mobile applications.

- The number of the information points.

- The number of the incentives, and the different preferences.

Objective 3.1. The creation of thesuitable financial, organisational, and legal background in favour of

the development of the tourism.

- The increase of the cooperation among the actors of thedifferent touristic

sectors (accomodations, local self-governments, touristic organisations,

services).

- The development of quality strategies and action plans, and their regular

monitoring, review.

Minimum standards

to be achieved

(until 2020):

- The increase of the thematic touristic routes (20%).

- The increase of the partnership area of some organisations, self-governments,

and services (20%).

- The increase of the programmes, and the events (10%).

- The appearance of new services based on cooperation (10%).

- The apeearance of cross-border partnerships (10%).

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Definition of

indicators to

monitor the

progress in

achieving the

defined objectives:

- The appearance of programmes and developments based on cooperation and

network.

- Changes in the number of thematic routes with several actors.

- Changes in the number of thetouristic organisations.

- The number of thethematic routes crossing the borders of theareas.

- The number of theproducts developed together.

- The amount of finances spent on the common developments.

- The amount of theobtained finances by applications.

- The number of participants in higher education regarding tourism.

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3 REGIONAL FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS

3.1 Introduction County Pest and the country’s capital Budapest (as an independent public administration unit) is located in the

central, northern part of Hungary, thus formulating the Central Hungarian Region. Budapest is operating as an

island or enclave inside County Pest. Budapest, and County Pest are the centres of the country not only

geographically but also with its economic power, which is demonstrated by the fact that more than the 10% of

the GDP is produced by the county, and it is more than the half of the national GDP created by the county and

the capital together.1

It is impossible to evaluate separately the county and Budapest from eco-touristic point of view since they are

related to each other so fundamentally. Practically speaking the country can be regarded as the agglomeration

area of the capital, because it is a much more urbanised are than the other parts of the country – taking the

averages into consideration, - and also there are close links in the economy as well.

1st illustration: A Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube elhelyezkedése2

The Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube / Holiday Area of the Bend of

the Danube (DKÜ) has been defined as a touristic hotspot that has similar features to the Fertő-Neusiedler See

area in County Győr-Moson-Sopron, since the cross-border national parks (in this case the Duna-Ipoly National

Park and the Danube) and the coastal location are substantial elements of both areas. 62 settlements in County

Pest belong to the area of the DKÜ.3 The Szentendre Micro-region has the highest touristic value on the area of

1 The development concept of County Pest megye, general evaluation, page 32. 2 http://www.nepszamlalas2001.hu/hun/kotetek/15/udulo.html

3http://www.dunakanyar.hu/index.php?page=regio&sub=Data, together with Budapest, however in our evaluation the statistic data of the DKÜ (population, number of visitors, etc.) have been calculated without Budapest

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the DKÜ, as it has the most spent nights in hotels in County Pest. It has favourable location as it is situated close

to the capital and it is along the water route of the Danube, as well as the bicycle roads. It has quite rich cultural

heritage (Szentendre, Visegrád), practically speaking it provides the first line background to the tourism of the

capital, and thus it is the main touristic destination for the tourists visiting the capital. Budapest is going to be

evaluated as the highly important puffer zone of the DKÜ, and County Pest is going to be evaluated as the puffer

zone. The area’s most important objective to define itself as a sovereign touristic destination, while providing

the widest possible range of supplementary services to Budapest.

3.2 Status Quo Analysis

3.2.1 Transportation

The evaluated area has a central position in the Hungarian transport system due to its Budapest-centred

character. The most important task of the county may be the bridge role between sections in both the European

and the Hungarian regional area.

If we have a look at the public road system of Hungary its centralised feature becomes evident: all the highways

meet in Budapest. The highway No. M0 is part of the Helsinki corridors No. IV and V taking their transit traffic

load as well, thus the mixing of the transit traffic as well as the daily commuter load causes heavy congestions.4

That is why we have defined the highway No. M0 as the ‘A’ transport axis. This ring road is situated in the south

of the capital, and its northern part is partly built out.

To define the ‘B’ transport axle is also a difficult task. The centralised pattern also characterises the rail roads,

moreover due to the intensive connections between the capital and the agglomeration the rail routes in the

suburbs are also very important. Regarding air traffic, the Liszt Ferenc International Airport is the largest airport

in Hungary. The annual number of its passengers reached 8.9 million in 2011.5 Thus according to their national

importance these railway lines as well as the Liszt Ferenc International Airport as a traffic interchange are

defined as the ‘B’ interchange.

The area in the focus of the study has central features regarding transport geography, thus it is true about the

railway system as well. The length of the railway lines in County Pest is 576 kms, from which only 2 kms are not

used. It has high importance for both County Pest and Budapest that the rail transport is supplied by 11 railway

and 4 HÉV lines. Except the Esztergom line (line No. 2) and Lajosmizse line (line No. 142) all the lines are electric.

4 The concept of County Pest, general evaluation, page 87. 5The concept of County Pest, general evaluation, page 89.

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There are however, huge problems with the integration of the suburban and the city rail lines. Regarding the

county the Hegyeshalom (line No. 1.), Székesfehérvár (line No. 30.), Cegléd (line No. 100.) lines are the busiest,

140-180 trains work daily in both directions. The railway line between Vác and Budapest has high importance as

well (line No. 70.), which plays an important role in the availability of the Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet /

Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube / Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube. The length of the break

between the journeys is about 15-20 minutes. The Esztergom line is at the edge of its capacity since both the

public transport of the suburban and the city lines and the cargo transport are completed on the same old rails,

however with the help of a recently won European Union project subsidy (total approximately 56 billion HUF)

the railway line will be renewed.6 As a part of the investment four new stations will be built, and what the most

important is, that encouraging the suburban transport P+R parking spaces and bicycle racks will be also built.

The Volánbusz Plc. has 500 coaches daily in the direction of about a hundred cities of the country, thus creating

the connection to the centres of the counties as well as the cities with regional importance and the touristic

centres. There are coaches in the direction of Győr, Jászberény, and Eger every hour, or even more frequently.

About 5500 bus lines supply the transport in County Pest, connecting about 170 settlements and the capital as

well as the centres of the regions. On the suburban lines (e.g. Érd, Diósd, Fót) the frequency of the buses are 5,

10 or 20 minutes, thus supplying the commuters with the necessary service. The company plays an important

role on those areas that are a bit farther from the centre, since in most cases they are only available by buses

(practically speaking these coaches are the only public transport means on these areas).7 The agglomeration

destinations of the BKV buses have been a great advantage for the people in Budapest, as well as the

commuters. These coaches go in the directions of e.g. Törökbálint, Budakeszi, Budaörs, Gyál and Diósd, thus the

coordinated fares make life easier for those using these services.8

The sequences of the Eurovelo 6 bicycle road crossing the county play an important role in the bicycle road

system of the focus area (DKÜ), and the whole County. The route itself runs along the River Danube in Hungary,

and in the county it reaches several touristic attractions. One of the most popular bicycle routes is the bicycle

road along the Danube. We can state about the bicycle traffic of Budapest that it is gaining more and more

popularity in the city. The length of the bicycle roads in the city is 226 kms, which is far shorter than in other

European capital cities, while they do not constitute a continuous network.

Budapest is the most important and the most spectacular venue and port of the boating on the Danube. One of

the most popular voyages is the regular ship between Vienna and Budapest along the wonderful landscape of

6http://hvg.hu/itthon/20121011_esztergomi_vasutvonal_felujitas

7http://www.volanbusz.hu/hu/tarsasagunkrol/cegismerteto

8http://www.bkv.hu/hu/kornyeki_szakaszhatarok_kornyeki_berletek_ervenyessegi_hatarai/a_kornyeki_helykozi_vonaljegyek_ervenyessegi_hatarai

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the Danube.9 This route has a great importance regarding our focus area, the Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet

/ Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube / Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube since the transit traffic of

the international shipping transport is fulfilled here.

The ferries are important means of the water transport in the DKÜ area, as they release the dividing role of the

Danube. Ferry shuttles can be found between for example Szob and Pilismarót, Visegrád and Nagymaros, Vác

and Tahitótfalu and Szentendre and Szigetmonostor.10

Personal information points are available for the passengers arriving at the area almost at each bigger station

(railway or bus stations). I would like to highlight the importance of the service of the so called Budapestinfo

Point, which is the variant of the Tourinform point in the capital. It has a significant role not only in touristic

meaning, but also from public transport aspect as well, because it is the number one issuer and distributor of

the Budapest Card. The owner of the Budapest Card can have several discounts and all the BKV public transport

vehicles can be used free of charge. Due to the increasing popularity of the bicycle usage there are several biker

websites offering route planners, route planner availability, and the bicycle map of Budapest is also available.11

3.2.2 Tourism

According to the division by touristic areas the focus area of our study, the Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet /

Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube / Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube belongs to the Budapest and

its vicinity (Budapest, and the northern part of County Pest) Touristic region. Due to the lack of the suitable

organisation neither a standard brand nor complex touristic products have been created in the DKÜ and its

surrounding areas.

It is quite difficult to study and evaluate the tourism of County Pest on its own (not taking the effect of Budapest

as destination into account). The other areas of the county have different touristic appeal, and they are known

by the tourists in different depths, however they cannot be regarded as separate touristic destinations.

Based on the statistic data (KSH, 2011) it can be concluded that the number of visitors of County Pest and

Budapest shows an increase especially County Pest. We have to add however, that the number of the spent

nights has a slightly fallen in the area of the DKÜ in the last few years. It has been the main destination area of

the tourism outside Budapest; however the baths on the southern part of the county are becoming more and

more popular among the tourists. Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube /

9 http://www.mahartpassnave.hu/webset32.cgi?MAHART@@HU@@38@@602118017

10http://internet.kozut.hu/utinform/Lapok/kompok.aspx

11http://www.kmsz.hu/sites/default/files/bicbp_2009.pdf

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Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube has the 40% of the number of the visitors (KSH, 2011), and the 46% of

the number of spent nights in the hotels ok (KSH, 2011). Thus we can state that the Dunakanyar Kiemelt

Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube / Holiday Area of the Danube Bend play a significant role

in the tourism Pest County.

Area The number of

the visitors

(2011)

The number of the

spent nights in the

hotels (2007)

The number of the

spent nights in the

hotels (2011)

The rate of the

changes in the

number of the

spent nights in

the hotels (%)

Budapest 2,813,139 6,233,093 6,598,989 +5%

County Pest 390,260 600,043 735,795 +22%

DKÜ 157,992 356,320 339,170 -5%

A Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube / Holiday Area of the Bend of the

Danube can rely on its own varying local energies, thus its touristic offers are quite colourful:

The natural treasures of Duna-Ipoly National Park, its unique biosphere has national importance.

Cultural, intellectual, historical heritage: the most important cultural events appeal tourists from

several parts of the country, thus it is important to mention the Cultural Weeks of the bend of the

Danube and the Palace Games in Visegrád.

Water sport opportunities on the Danube, and the relaxation linked to the water, even just for one day

has a significant appeal.

Health tourism based on spa baths: baths with high temperature spa water can be found in Göd,

Szentendre and Vác.

Hiking, active tourism: the Duna-Ipoly National Park, and the Börzsöny and the Pilis supply the tourists

and their families with wonderful place for hiking. During these hikes the tourists can enjoy the services

of the trains with narrow rails, which can be found at several points of the area of the bend of the

Danube, and everybody is welcomed on the several cultural programmes even in the spring and the

autumn.

Bicycle tourism: it is enough to think of the bicycle road Eurovelo 6, a significant number of biking

tourists arrive at the focus area from different countries. It is also important to add, that the number of

biker tourists arriving at the bend of the Danube from Budapest is also increasing continuously, the

biker tourism is getting more and more popularity as a way of relaxation.

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Rural or agro-tourism, weekend tourism: the weekend tourism is gaining popularity among the citizens

of the capital.

The tourism offer is even more colourful if we include the offers of Budapest, since the most tourists visit the

capital. If they have enough time to have a look at the areas outside the capital, they have a trip to the Danube

Bend and its surrounding areas. The introduction of all the offers of Budapest would be too big a task for this

study, thus we mention only a few main areas: several high importance museums (Hungarian National Museum,

the Museum of Fine Arts, etc.), its cultural life is really splendid, there are several historic buildings, memorial

places (the Castle of Buda, the Houses of Parliament). It is important to add that Budapest is a world heritage

venue as well: Budapest – the banks of the Danube, the Castle district of Buda and the Andrássy Road (in

cultural category, 1987 + 2002).12 The Budapest card offers several discounts for the tourists visiting Budapest,

not only the services of the BKV can be used free, but also several entry tickets can be bought with significant

discount. The Budapest Info Points supply the tourists with the necessary information, which are the offices of

the Tourinform in Budapest.

3.2.3 SWOT-analysis

Strengths

The increasing number of the P+R parking spaces

The BKV coaches appear in the settlements of the

agglomeration

The capital and the northern part of the county are

available by bicycle.

The metropolitan water transport has been restarted

It is an area with several beauties – a high number of

historic and constructed heritages, historic centres of

the cities.

The organisation of TDMs has started on several

areas, a regional marketing organisation is operating

on the area

The areas expecting the status of World Heritage have

got high values

Weaknesses

The different branches of transport do not

create an integral network, the lack of

cooperation

The bad quality of the low level roads linking the

small settlements as well as the main roads

The inter-modality, the integrative features and

the interchanges are under-developed

The cessation of the Budapest Transport

Association.

The southern area of the county is under-

developed regarding its bicycle tourism.

The lack of a bicycle road network, the small

number of the services.

The guaranteed programmes are focused to

12http://www.vilagorokseg.hu/portal/helyszinek.php

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The continuous increase of the number of the spent

nights in the accommodations of the area Budapest

(5%) and County Pest (22%)

The creation of the Budapest Card

The reveal and the development of the traditional

means of transport (e.g. in the bend of the Danube:

the development of the railway network with narrow

rails, Budapest: transport by boats).

Visegrád and Szentendre, there should be such

programmes in the other areas of the county, as

well.

Low level of the cooperation of the participants

of the tourism

The lack of a complex, common touristic brand

The bad relations between the settlements

make obstacles in the availability of the services

Opportunities

A huge area of protected land with varying landscape,

natural values

Well developed infrastructure relations (the area is

neighbouring 3 Helsinki corridors)

Dense internal – mainly radial – transport system

Favourable motor way availability

The rate of the usage of the public transport is

relatively higher than in most European countries

The European subsidies prefer the developments of the

rail traffic.

The number of the P+R parking spaces is increasing,

thus the means of the public transport become

preferred to the individual means of transport.

The harmonisation of the timetables, ticket systems in

the whole county

The realisation of the S-Bahn concept

The realisation of the BuBi bicycle renting system.

Spa baths and thermal water, swimming pools in

unique environment.

The increase of the demand for active recreation

The Danube as a high potential (touristic, water supply,

transport).

Threats

Due the increase of the transit traffic the quality

of life decreases, and deteriorates the system

The environmental and transport conditions of

the county are deteriorating

The Traffic Association is not founded

The necessary infrastructural developments

have not been completed, which would have

been needed to Tourism (e.g. in the transport

area)

The number of the visitors has been decreasing

due to the economic crises

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The reasoning of the real demands, the consequent

fulfilment, accepting responsibilities

The usage of the extraordinary transport-geographic

opportunities with the help of the EU resources: the

development of the railways, public roads and the

water roads, the expansion of the international

passenger transport on water and in air.

3.2.4.Gap Analysis

Gap-analysis is one of the important sections of our strategy. Its aim is to define the gaps between the strategic

objectives defined by us and the current status, and by what measures these gaps can be eliminated.

After defining the really important gaps and the elimination measures and their fulfilment we can reach the

startegic aims in the action area.

Short description of the objectives defined with the aim of the permeation of the usage of the sustainable

transport methods, the definition of the occurring gaps, as well as the measures taken for their elimination:

The development of the railway connections of the action area

Status description:

Accessibilty of the Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube / Holiday Area of

the Bend of the Danube by train is important to evaluate especially from ist relation to Budapest, since the

capital city supplies as the main visitor source regarding the action area.

One of the main characteristics of the action area is that regardless of its short distance from the capital, its

commuter traffic cannot rely entirely on the railway services. It has three main reasons:

slow travel speed due to the insufficient status of the railway lines

the lack of the integration in the area

low / medium quality of the interchange possibilities

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It is important that the HÉV (COMMUTER RAIL) type public transport is available in the area (between

Szentendre and Budapest), as well as on the Vác-Budapest railway line (No. 70. ), where the trains go relatively

frequently, however it is not as frequent as the trains of HÉV (COMMUTER RAIL) in Szentendre, moreover, the

trains serve significant international traffic as well. After the renewal of the railway line between Budapest and

Esztergom the traffic with touristic aims must have increased, which may play an important role in the touristic

life of the Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube / Holiday Area of the Bend

of the Danube. In the northern part of the action area some incompleteness can be detected in the railway

connections, which resulted in the current status, that the local citisens have left the railway services, moreover

the touristic transport does not favour the railway transport either.

2nd illustration: The rail line network of County Pest 13

An interesting feature of the area is that while the main railway lines and roads are situated on the left side of

the River Danube, the main touristic destinations can be found on the right side of the Danube. It is important to

mention the relatively dense narrow gauge railway network, which is important from the touristic point of view

as well.

Gaps:

13 http://www.mav.hu/mav/terkepek.php?mid=1468ec7b4f1c98&chapter=1

Page 16 / 40

- The acceptable quality railway services (especially regarding the Szob micro-region).

Definition of the measures:

- The development of quality public transport lines that go on electric railway lines, which are accompanied by

quality services: usage of more comfortable cars, the possible decrease of the travel time of the trains, the

possibility of bicycle transportation, as well as the increase of the frequency of the trains (the possibility of dual

lines), developments in organisational matters.

The development of the international connection of the action area

Status description:

The international accessibilty of the Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube

has been evaluated regarding the most well-known sustainable transport branches, since the tourists from

abroad play a significant role in the touristic life of the area. The number of the international tourists was

116,217 in 2011, which supplies as the 30% of the total number of visitors in the county. It is important to

underline the increase in the number of the visitors from abroad: compared to the data of the year 2005 County

Pest has gained an increase of 35%.

The accessibility of the Bend of the Danube should be evaluated regarding the traffic on the roads as well, since

at present the touristic destination available via the transport on the roads has the greatest importance in the

action area. Regarding the international connection the highway No. M2 should be evaluated, which has not

been completed yet, (it ends up at the northern part of the Vác area). The further constructions of the highway

No. M2 would be important regarding the better internal and international accessibility as well.

The railways: Regarding the DKÜ the most important international railway lines go between Budapest-Vác-Szob-

Pozsony/Bratislava-Krakkow, where the well-known Eurocity trains go, which means they offer quality services

(aircondition, drinks and food is available, quick and comfortable journey). However, it is important to mention,

that the area (especially the Szob micro-region) has got low level connections with Slovakia, which could be

improved by the reconstruction of the bridges over the River Ipoly (both the railway lines and the roads).

The fact that Visegrád, one of the most significant touristic destinations of the bend of the Danube area, does

not have a railway station makes its international accessibility even more difficult, its railway access is possible

via Nagymaros. This unfavourable status becomes even more unfavourable if we take the poor condition of the

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road No. 11 via Visegrád into consideration. Thus these conditions fundamentally define the accessibility of the

city.

Regarding the touristic-transport status of County Pest it is important to mention that it is quite difficult to reach

the International Liszt Ferenc Aeroport via rail road connections.

Bicycles: Regarding the bicycle roads the county has different features. On the one hand the EuroVela bicycle

road No. 6 runs past the Danube, which visit several relevan touristic attractions in the area. The EuroVelo

bicycle roads play an important role in the bicycle tourism of Europe, thus it can be stated that the international

accessibility of the area regarding the bicycle roads is good. It is important to mention however, that the

Hungarian part of the EuroVelo road No. 6 has not been completed yet, thus it does not supply as a unique

bicycle road network, which the other, minor bicycle roads could enter, to complete a total network of bicycle

roads.

3rd illustration: EuroVelo road No. 6 (the section up to Budapest)14

14 http://realzoldek.weboldala.net/displayimage.php?album=295&pos=5

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4th illustration: The length of the bicycle roads in County Pest by micro-regions

Water transport: The River Danube with the fascinating Bend of the Danube area is one of the most

important touristic destinations of the Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend of

the Danube. The importance of the water transport is underpinned by the fact that the action area is

situated on the section between Viena and Budapest. It is important to add however, that the capacity

of the water transport decreases the quality of the accessibility times, and the status of the water

transport and its constructions is also not acceptable (e.g. ports). The ferry transport on the River

Danube plays an important role in the water transport life of the area, which support the vertical

transport of the area (due to the bordering role of the Danube).

Gaps:

- The reconstruction of the northern areas of the DKÜ (especially regarding the Szob micro-region),

their incomplete connections, and the transport relations.

- Due to their incomplete status the bicycle roads do not supply with a complete network, thusthe

opinions about the national EuroVelo network are quite scattered.

- Not acceptable status of the water transport infrastructure (capacity, ports).


- The development and the reconstruction of the railway and road connections of the northern areas

of the Bend of the Danube, the realisation of the possibility for the quality public transport.

Page 19 / 40

- The construction of the missing bicycle road sections, the realisation of the connection between the

existing ones, thus a complete bicycle road network could be completed.

- The development of the existing water infrastructure with the aim of the better use of the potentials.

The realisation and the maintenance of the infrastructure entirely serving the needs of the green

transport methods

Status description:

The infrastructural status and the possibilities basically define the touristic life of a given area. The

quality of the status of the road, railway, water and air transport of Hungary is below the level of the

statuses in the West-European countries. It is even more underlined in that regard, that the

permeation of the green transport methods can only be successful if it is accompanied by the suitable

infrastructure. The touristic success depends on the quality of the related services, and additional

infrastructure elements as well. The introduction of the infrastructural status of the green transport

methods is evaluated regarding the railway, the bicycle and the water transport.

Railway infrastructure: Regarding sustainability the quality of the railway infrastructure is an important factor,

since the environmental load of the areas with electric railway lines is much lower than in case of the trains

pulled by diesel locomotives. Only the Budapest-Vác-Szob-Pozsony / Bratislava-Krakkow line is electric in the

area, and the development of the Vác-Diósjenő-Drégelypalánk, and the Budapest-Dorog-Esztergom lines are in

progress, electrification has not been completed yet. To create the availability of the bicycle transport is very

important: at the moment not all the railway cars are suitable for bicycle transportation.

It is important to underline the importance of the role of the HÉV (commuter line) in the southern area of the

Bend of the Danube, which connects the cities of Budapest and Szentendre (line No. 5). Moreover its role is

important also, that it is part of the agglomeration transport of Budapest, and its frequency is more favourable

than that of the railway trains. Its importance is lying in the fact that in case of the lack of HÉV (commuter line)

the rate of the road traffic would be much higher, thus increasing the environmental load.

Bicycle infrastructure: Generally speaking about the bicycle infrastructure we can admit that it is ‘scattered’, it

does not produce one whole system in the area of the Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the

Bend of the Danube, even the road No. 6 of the EuroVelo international bicycle road system has not been

completed and in several cases the quality of the already existing roads is not acceptable. In case of some

Page 20 / 40

bicycle road segment the traffic is led to the already too busy roads No. 10 and 11, which is problematic

regarding traffic safety as well. The information service for the cyclers is not sufficient either. Unfortunately in

several cases the bicycle roads are depreciated quite quickly, and they are lacking maintenance.

Water infrastructure: In connection with the international connections we have already defined the main

infrastructural problems of the water transport: the infrastructural deficiencies (capacity, the not sufficient

quality and quantity of the harbours) have to be improved, since the water transport on the River Danube has

got significant potentials.

Other, supplementary infrastructure: In several cases a supplementary infrastructure segment can offer

additional values to the visitors. Such infrastructural element is the usage of the already mentioned special train

cars, in which bicycles can be transported in the area of the DKÜ, which service is still not accessible in case of

each train car. Regarding the water transport in several cases the supplementary infrastructure elements (boat

houses, harbours, rental services) are not acceptable quality, or are entirely missing in the DKÜ area. The usage

of the electric coaches may supply as an alternative solution in the area of the bus / coach transport, which

could support the transport of the tourists, small groups can be transported to the touristic destinations without

any environmental load. However, the electronic coaches require some special supplementary infrastructure

elements (like the charging stations).

The supplementary infrastructure elements regarding the bicycle transport in the area of the Bend of the

Danube has hiatuses. Although the bicycle road between Vác, Dunakeszi and Újpest is said to be good quality,

the supplementary services are missing, however both the touristic and the labour traffic is high in the

mentioned section.

Gaps:

- The not acceptable quality of the railway line services (frequency, the quality of the train cars).

- The big crowds’ getting on and off is still problematic.

- The not acceptable quality of the bicycle basic infrastructure (the low quantity and quality of the bicycle roads).

- The lack or the low quality of the water transport infrastructure.

- The lack of the bicyckle infrastructure leading into the public transport.

- The lack of the mindset favouring the sustainable transport methods (e.g. intermodality).


- The creation of electrified railway lines, as well as the quality public transport services.

- The development of the infrastructure related to the bicycle tourism by creating an unique and complete

network of the bicycle roads.

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- The development of the infrastructure serving the needs of the ater transport and their service areas.

- To create the possibilities of the connection of the public transport methods with the sustainable private

transport methods.

The development of the accessibility of the touristic destinations

Status description:

In the description of the railway, public road and water transport the main railway lines, public road networks,

and the water connections have already been introduced. Based on the location of the touristic destinations and

the main transport axes we can state that the transport axes are situated on the left side of the River Danube,

while the main touristic destinations (Visegrád, Szentendre) are located on the right side of the river. This

feature needs clever transport-geographic solutions that could minimise the dividing role of the Danube. Such

clever solutions can be detected in case of the Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend of

the Danube: the realisation of the Nagymaros-Visegrád railway station (the passengers can get off the train in

Nagymaros, and then they take the ferry to the City of Visegrád), and the development of the railway station

and its surrounding area in Szob (the station of the narrow gauge train is located next to the railway station).

Such clever solutions are necessary for the sake of the better accessibilty.

Although public road transport cannot regarded as green transport, it is important to mention the

developments of the public roads in the area of the Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend

of the Danube. The roads No. 11, 2, and 12 running in the action area are overloaded and bad quality, which

can lead to slow transport speed and accidents, and moreover, it means additional load regarding environment

pollution. The development of these public roads is important, because based on the current trends the main

destination of the tourists visiting Budapest, is the Bend of the Danube. The sights are mainly visited by car, and

they stay not more than two days, or sometimes only a few hours.

The problem of accessing the touristic sights inside the settlement can also occur, and its solution is also

inevitable. In several cases the visitors’ data is not acceptable not due to the lack of interest, rather because the

given areas or points are difficult to access. The bicycle tourists can happen to meet such accessibility problems,

as well: due to the bad quality or scattered state of the infrastructure the destination is difficult or impossible to

access. In several cases the information service is not sufficient, thus these features lead to the low visitor

numbers of the destination.

The great number of the visitors arriving by coaches to the city of Szentendre causes severe problems, which

threatens the normal daily life of the city sometimes; moreover the buses staying in the centre of the city mean

Page 22 / 40

a high environmental load. An additional problem is that the main attraction of the city, the Szentendre Village

Museum and the downtowns of Szentendre are badly connected by public transport.

Gaps:

- The development of the sustainable transport methods (railway, bicycle, water).

- In several cases the touristic destinations are difficult to access.

- Low number of clever solutions in the area of the transport (the lack of intermodality).


- Infrastructural developments in the area Iof the railway, bicycle and water transport.

- The development of the accessibility of the touristic destinations.

- The creation of clever solutions.

Short introduction of the defined objectives with the aim of the ‘Development of the Sustainable Touristic

Products in the Action Area’ strategic objective, the definition of the existing problems, and the measures to

be taken, to eliminate them.

The creation of touristic packages, the development of the offers and their connections

Status description:

The Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube plays an important role in the

touristic life of County Pest, since the 40-45% of the nights spent in the action area are realised there. However

the role of Budapest in the touristic features of the DKÜ is important to add (mainly because of the international

tourism), since the area of the Bend of the Danube is the first destination outside Budapest. Taking this feature

into consideration it is important to state that the visitors’ number of the Bend of the Danube is much better

than the number of the spent nights in the area. This data can be effectively measured only regarding some

destinations (where visitors have to buy entrance tickets, etc.). Its great role in the touristic life of the county

(evaluating the spent night in the area) is suprising, because besides Visegrád (approximately 170,000 visitor

nights, 1,000 four-star accommodations) the area of the Bend of the Danube cannot offer acceptable quality

and quantity accommodations.

Area Number of visitors (2011)

Number of visitor nights (2007)

Number of visitor nights (2011)

The rate of the changes in the

number of visitor nights

Page 23 / 40

(%)

Budapest 2,813,139 6,233,093 6,598,989 +5%

County Pest 390,260 600,043 735,795 +22%

The area of the DKÜ

(61 settlements)

157,992 356,320 339,170 -5%

Source: KSH, TEIR

5th illustration: The visitor data of the accommodations in County Pest based on the number of the visitor

nights in the area15

The touristic offers are quite varying in the action area (we are only evaluating the four most important

branches):

- Cultiral and eco-tourism: the Bend of the Danube hosts several events and festivals with nation-wide

importance, such as the Szentendrei nyár / Summer in Szentendre, Dunakanyar Művészeti Hetek / Art

Weeks in the Bend of the Danube, Visegrádi Nemzetközi Palotajátékok / International Castle Festicities

in Visegrád. The most visitors are attracted by the Open-air Folclore Museum, and the Margit Kovécs

Museum.

15 Pest megyei helyzetelemzés

Page 24 / 40

- Active tourism: regarding bicycle tourism the area of the Bend of the Danube possesses excellent

features, but due to the not acceptable quality of the infrastructure, unfortunately the bicycle roads are

not connected. The most popular branch of the bicycle tourism, the hill and forest cycling is getting

more and more popular in the area, which is mainly due to the active participation of the national park,

since it helps in the definition of the routes and the placing of the signs. The horse riding tourism is

gaining more and more popularity in the area of the Band of the Danube, which can enlarge the

opportunities of the active leisure activities. Several new horse-riding centres have been opened, and

the old ones are being renewed.

- Eco-tourism: The natural features of the Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend of

the Danube offer excellent opportunities for the eco-tourism as well. The natural treasures of the Duna-

Ipoly National Park, the hills around the Bend of the Danube, the almost untouched valley of the Ipoly

are all such features that have nation-wide importance regarding eco-tourism. The national parks are

more and more open for the tourism, especially by creating study paths and organising forest schools,

as well as organising weekend family programmes.

- Health tourism: there are several hot water spa baths with international importance in the area of the

Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube, which can be found also in

Göd, Szentendre, Vác and Visegrád.

Based on the status evaluation of the main touristic branches it can be stated, that the Bend of the Danube as a

touristic destination is an important target not only regarding County Pest, but possesses a high national and

international importance as well.

It is important to mention that although the number of visitors of the Bend of the Danube is high, there is only a

low number of those visitors who would spend some days in the action area. The majority of the visitors are

from among the tourists of Budapest, who arrive at the area for maximum 1 or 2 days, or only for three, four

hours. Regarding the touristic centres there are only a few programmes, thus the hotels and other

accommodations cannot reach more than the one- or two-day-long stays. One of its reasons is that there are

only a few quality accommodations in the area of the Bend of the Danube (except Visegrád9. The touristic

character can also add to this low number of stays, in a lot of cases the action area serves as the number one

extension of the visit in the capital both in time and space, and the complex touristic offers are missing as well.

However, the offers of the Bend of the Danube are not used to their full potential in several cases. Due to the

lack of the sufficient touristic organisational background complex touristic products have not been developed in

the area of the Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube yet. Partly this fact is

the reason to that feature, that mainly weekend tourists arrive at the action area, there is only a low number of

Page 25 / 40

such tourists, who would like to spend several days in the area of the Bend of the Danube. There is a strong

seasonal feature (focused on mainly the summer and the weekends) regarding the visits in the action area. As

we have already mentioned, the 40-45% of the visitor nights in County Pest are realised in the area of the Bend

of the Danube, however, the visitors’ distribution in space is not uniform in the action area, both the main

programmes / destinations and the greater accommodations are centred in Visegrád and Szentendre. The

thematic offers, which appear in insufficient numbers, could ensure the connecting of the less strong attractions

in favour of the market penetration, however, the level of cooperation in the area of the Bend of the Danube is

still low. The active tourism has started to increase both in infrastructure and in services, but the usage potential

of the area is still not used to the full. It is important to mention, that while the number of visitor nights in

County Pest is increasing continuously, we can detect the decrease in the visitor nights in the area of the Bend

of the Danube, which is the most important touristic destination of the cunty, thus the development of touristic

packages and offers would be necessary, so that the Bend of the Danube remained the main destination inside

County Pest.

Gaps:

- The lack of the complex touristic packages.

- The low level of cooperation of the touristic organisations.

- The low number of the touristic packages ( e.g. active tourism).

- The low number of the quality accomodations in the area of the Bend of the Danube.

- The development of the possibilities for conference tourism.


- The creation and development of touristic adventure chains.

- The increase in the cooperation of the touristic actors.

- The development of the sustainable thematic routes and packages to make the stays longer.

The development of active tourism

Status description:

The state of the background infrasrtucture basically defines the possibilities of the active tourism in the

Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube. This statement is even truer in case

of the bicycle tourism. In the area of the Bend of the Danube the bicycle roads do not formulate a unique

nerwork, the service object, which are anyway built without any cooperation or coherence can on ly be found in

a few places. Thus the current status does not make the creation of bicycle touristic packages possible, however

Page 26 / 40

there is a great demand from both the national and the international sources of tourism as well. The hill and the

forst cycling is more and more enjoyed in the action area, several forest sections have been determined, but the

determination of further sections could have high importance, since we should not forget the environmental

impact that these (half) legal roads can cause. It is important to mention that the Bend of the Danube hosts one

of the biggest national mountain bike competitions, the Danube Marathon. Among the different types of active

tourism, horse riding has got the most developed background in the DKÜ area, since several new horse-riding

centres have opened, which offer excellent possibilities for learning to ride, dressage tests, cross-country and

tour riding. The Duna-Ipoly National Park is taking more and more active role and offering better and better

conditions for the visitors, the hikers, since there are possibilities ti hike along the study paths, or to visit the

forest schools. There are offers for those tourists, who like winter sports, since there are some possibilities to ski

in the area of the Bend of the Danube (Kemence, Zebegény), even, close to Visegrád the grass-ski areas offer

summer skiing opportunities for those who are interested. As supplementary touristic products we have to

mention the possibilities offered by the paintball, the quad areas and the summer bob truck.

Gaps:

The lack of the background infrastructure and the supplementary services of the active tourism

Unused potentials in the area of the active tourism (bicycle-, horse- and eco-tourism).

There are only a few touristic packages that are built on actve tourism.


- The development of the background infrastructure and the supplementary services in the area of the active

tourism.

- The usage of the possibilities of the active tourism.

- The development of touristic packages in the area of the active tourism.

The development of the water tourism

Status description:

In the gap analyses we evaluate water tourism not as part of the active tourism, since due to the lack of the

infrastructure and the current state this touristic branch is the least used touristic area in the bend of the

Danube. In the area of the Bend of the Danube the possibilities for the development of the water tourism are

not available everywhere. In several cases there is a fierce downstream of the Danube, thus the building of a

port is impossible (at Szentendre and Vác the bank is not sufficient for building a normal size harbour).

Sometimes the side streams that are good for active water tourism (kayaking, canoing) are not entirely safe.

Page 27 / 40

The water tourism is entirely scattered in the action area, despite the fact that the Bend of the Danube

possesses fascinating features; Budapest is situated directly next to the area, which is the greatest attraction of

the Danube. The water tourism regarding the River Danube has high popularity in bith Germany and Austria,

and due to the regular boat shuttles between Viena and Pozsony / Bratislava water tourism may be gaining a

greater role in Slovakia as well.

Between 2005 and 2011 the water touristic infrastructure of the area improved a lot, however, the low quality

and quantity of the harbours and the service complexes hinders the development of the water tourism in the

area. The supplementary services are practically absolutely missing (camping sites, yacht ports, renting

enterprises).

Evaluating the water touristic features of the Bend of the Danube we can state that the city of Visegrád

possesses the reates potentials. However, tourist boats rarely call at the port of Visegrád, the visits are mainly

limited to the visit of the palace and a further medieval joust, thus the tourists arriving by water transport would

spend only a few hours in the city.

Gaps:

The deteriorated state of the background infrastructure of the water tourism, low qualiry service buidings.

Not sufficient usage of the possibilities, potentials of water tourism.


- Infrastructural developments aiming at the increase of tourism.

- The development of touristic packages, the inclusion of the banks of the Danube in the touristic life of the

area.

Short introduction of the defined objectives with the aim of the ‘Development of the Quality Services and the

Creation of a Unified Touristic Brand’ strategic objective, the definition of the existing problems, and the

measures to be taken, to eliminate them.

The creation and the development of an area-specific touristic image, and the development of the motivation

system

Status description:

The level of touristic attraction of the Bend of the Danube is underpinned by the fact that it is regarded to be a

highly favoured national holiday area. Despite this fact the development of the unified marketing actions, and

Page 28 / 40

the creation of an image has not been completed, the attempts to create a unified brad have not been

successful (the separating role of the River Danube is shown here). At the moment no such touristic

organisation with a strong influence exists that could manage this cooperative work in the area of the Bend of

the Danube. Officially the Budapest Central-Hungary Regional Marketing Mnagement belonging to the

Hungarian Tourism Plc. is responsible for the marketing activities in County Pest; however, these marketing

activities cannot assure the acceptable quality and quantity visitor flow. The marketing based activities could be

completed mainly by the TDM organisations, but there are several such organisations in the area of the

Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube (Szentendre and Its Surrounding

Area TDM, Dunakanyar-Ipolymente-Börzsöny TDM), thus even these organisations cannot supply the whole

area with unified marketing activities efficiently. The introduction of the Bend of the Danube Card has already

got a several year long history; however there has not been any substantive progress, achievements.

Gaps:

The lack of a unified touristic marketing and brand.

The touristic motivation system is missing.


- Harmonised marketing activities in the area of the Bend of the Danube, the creation of a unified image and

brand.

- The development of a motivation system.

The installation and development of information systems

Status description:

The necessary quality informational services play an important role in the areas of both the transport and the

tourism. That is why the easy and quick access of the most important and the most exact possible information

could be assured. Personal information can be obtained at almost every bigger station (coach, railway) at the

information points. Incase of small stations the information flow is not assured. In these cases we can access the

internet where the different timetable sites offer up-to-date pieces of information.

The acceptable level information flow is important regarding tourism as well, the highest quality informational

services are offered by the Tourinform offices, which can be found in each bigger settlement. On the internet

several touristic sites offer different information regarding tourism and the Bend of the Danube, ranging from

the programme descriptions, through festivals to up-to date information of the sights. The most complex site

Page 29 / 40

about the Bend of the Danube is the www.dunakanyar.hu offering programmes, timetables and other useful

pieces of information.

The greatest demand for the development of the information systems occurs regarding the bicycle tourism. The

existence of the information systems is necessary for the smooth run of the visitors’ bicycle transport: such

information systems are the board systems, the touristic signs, and the information board placed close to the

touristic destinations. Besides the sections of the EuroVelo Road No. 6 in the Bend of the Danube the neither

the quality nor the quantity of the boards and the information services are acceptable in several cases, thus this

feature should be changed so that the number of cycling tourists would increase. In the development of the

information services it is important to keep the necessity of multylinguality in mind, so that the foreign tourists

could get full information. The cycling tourists seek the planning opportunities, which can be supplied by the

different route planner sites. It is important to add however, that no such complex website that would entirely

supply the cycling tourists with information and planning facilities exists at the moment. The smart phone

mobile applications are becoming more and more popular in getting information, thus this method is going to

have high importance in the near future.

Gaps:

- The lack of a modern, complex bicycle route planner that covers the whole area.

- The development of modern touristic information systems aiming at the development and accessibility of the

touristic services.


- The development of a modern complex bicycle route planner that satisfies all the desires

- The development of touristic information systems in the area of the Bend of the Danube

The short status description of the defined objectives aiming at the ‚Development of the suitable financial,

organisational and legal background’ strategic objective, the dfinition of the shorcomings, and the definition

of the measures aiming at the elimination of the shortcomings.

The icrease of the level of the cooperation among the actors of tourism (accommodations, self-governments,

touristic organisations, services, etc.).

Status description:

Page 30 / 40

The quality of the cooperation of the transport service companies and the touristic organisations highly defines

the touristic features and possibilities of an area. It is important to the visitors to get to the given area quickly

and comfortably, that the destinations are easily accessable inside the target area, and then they could return to

the area they arrived from. This target can only be achieved via the close cooperation f the touristic

organisations and the transport suppliers. There are several good examples in the western countries in this area;

unfortunately the level of this kind of cooperation is still low in Hungary. The lack of cooperation features the

public transport suppliers as well, since there is not an organisation with high profile (the Budapest Area

Association has alteady stopped working) that could efficiently coordinate the transport in the area. It could

solve the cross-border transport problems as well, since one of the greatest problems of water tourism of the

Bend of the Danube is the question of crossing the border on the water (especially by motor boats and yachts).

Since this organisational background is missing the harmonisation of the timetables and ticket systems can only

defined as a future target.

The Touristic destination Management (TDM) organisations have been founded for the fulfilment of the

coordination tasks among the touristic organisations, the realisation of a unified image and the collective

lobbying. The TDM organisations have not gained sufficient experiences, and they have not covered the whole

area yet. There are three well operating TDM organisations in the area of the Bend of the Danube (Szentendre

és Környéke TDM, Vác és Környéke TDM, Visegrád és Környéke TDM), as a result of their operations cooperation

based on professional work has started in the area in the recent years. Generally speaking we have to state that

the organisational structure of the touristic organisations is continuously changing, thus the reated functions

also change frequently. The financial problems appear as additional hardships to these problems. They do not

possess any individual, own financial sources, thus they can only assure their work relying on tenders.

A further problem is the lack of the information flow among the self-governments and the local TDM

organisations (or the dialogue has only one direction), which could be solved by collective professional

meetings, and the collective preparation of the projects. The lack of communication between the settlements

has to be mentioned as well, especially related tourism: due to the lack of finances the settlements do not have

an appointed touristic manager (even Szentendre does not have a touristic manager), thus there is no

professional relationship among them. The financial problems may affect the cultural lives of the settlements,

since the events that have been successful and attracted a lot of visitors may not be organised any more due to

the lack of finances.

Gaps:

- Not acceptable level of cooperation and partnership among the actors of the transport and tourism.

- The actors have no interest for cooperation.

Page 31 / 40


- Increase the cooperation between transport (BKK, BKV, Volán) and tourism (TDM associations, self-

governments, accommodations, touristic services).

- The development of communication and conflict handling skills (incase the lack of cooperation is rooted in that

problem).

The development of the acceptable quality strategies and action plans, their regular review.

Status description:

Due to the continuously changing organisational background and the functions in Hungary the local level of the

touristic strategies has also been changing. That has happened to the reional, micr-regional, Bend of the Danube

regional touristic strategies, which all are based on the National Tourism Strategy, however they all differ from

each other in some ways. Due to the lack of the sufficient organisational background the strategic problems

have not been solved, thus the marketing activities cannot be harmonised.

Gaps:

- The lack of the quality touristic planning with high importance in the area.


The realisation of a unified touristic strategy in the area with the development of the related action plans with

the inclusion of the local experts and planners.

Page 32 / 40

4 REGIONAL ACTION PLAN

4.1.Catalogue of Development Measures

The definition of the measure

1. The definition of

the measures

related to the ‘The

Permeation of the

Usage of the

Sustainable

Transport Methods

in the Action Area’

strategic objective

o The development of quality public transport lines that go on

electric railway lines, which are accompanied by quality

services: usage of more comfortable cars, the possible

decrease of the travel time of the trains, the possibility of

bicycle transportation, as well as the increase of the

frequency of the trains (the possibility of dual lines),

developments in organisational matters (the development of

the quality of the public transport services).

o The development and the renovation of the railway and the

public road connections of the northern areas, the creation of

the possibilities of the quality public transport

o The construction of the missing bicycle road sections, the

development of the connections of the existing ones, thus a

unified bicycle network could be formulated

- The development of the water tourism for the better

usage of the existing potentials

- The development of electric railway lines, the

creation of quality public transport services

- The construction of the missing bicycle road sections,

the development of the connections of the existing ones, thus

a unified bicycle network could be formulated

- The creation and the developments of the

infrastructure and other buildings serving the needs of the

water tourism

- The realisation of the possibilities to link the public

Page 33 / 40

transport methods and the sustainable individual transport

methods

- Infrastructural developments in the areas of the

railway, bicycle and the water tourism

- The development of the accessibilty of the touristic

destinations

- The development of clever solutions


the measures

related to the

‘Development of

the Sustainable

Touristic Products in

the Action Area’

strategic objective

- The creation and the development of touristic

adventure chains

- The increase of the cooperation of the actors of

tourism

- The development of sustainable thematic routes,

and packages aiming at the longer staying times in the area

- The development of the background infrastructure

and the supplementary services in the area of active tourism

- The usage of the possibilities of the active tourism.

- The development of touristic packages in the area of

the active tourism

- Infrastructural developments aiming at the increase

of the water tourism

- The development of touristic packages, the inclusion

of the banks of the Danube in the touristic life of the area


the measures

related to the

‘Development of

the Quality Services

and the Creation of

a Unified Touristic

- The development of the harmonised marketing

activities, unified image and brand in the area of the Bend of

the Danube

- The development of the motivation systems

- The development of a modern, complex route

planner that satisfies all the demands

Page 34 / 40

Brand’ strategic

objective

- The development of the information systems in the

area.


the measures

related to the

‚Development of

the suitable

financial,

organisational and

legal background’

strategic objective.

- The increase of the cooperation of the actors of the

tourism

- The development of the unified touristic strategy of

the area, and the related action plans with the inclusion of the

local experts and organisers

4.2 Evaluation of Development Measures

Measure 1 The touristic developments of Ipolydamásd

Short description of

measure

Ipolydamásd is a settlement with the population of 350people besides the

Hungarian – Slovakian border, at the foot of the Börzsöny. It is abour 5 kms far

from the River Danube. The developments defined by the self-government of

the settlement aim at basically two targets:

o the development of the accomodations

o the development of hiking tourism.

Hiking tourism is getting more and more favoured in the settlement, thus the

renovation of the paths in Börzsöny, and the creation of new routes can

induce new developments. The development of the pilgrimage route between

Ipolydamásd and Márianosztra is also an important objective of the

settlement. Ipolydamásd has only a few touristic accomodations, thus in the

attic of theexisting IKSZT building some accomodation availabilities will be

created to satisfy the needs of thevisitors.

Estimated impacts - Increase of the importance of excursion tourism because of the new walking

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paths.

- Increasing the importance of religious tourism in the region because of the

reconstructed pilgrimate roads.

- The increase of guest nights is expected because of the development of

accomodations.

Estimated costs

Ivolved stakeholders Municipality of Ipolydamásd, local TDM organisation, religion, local vicarage,

touristic services

Priority of measures HIGH

Measure 2 The creation of the ‘Scene – Adventure – Comfort‘ touristic packages and the

touristic development system in Pomáz.


measure

Pomáz is a city with the population of 17,000 on the right side of the Danube,

situated between Szentendre and Budakalász. The developments defined by

the self-government of the settlement aim at two main targets:

the creation of a touristic development plan

the development of complex touristic packages.

The „Pomáz a Pilis Kapuja / Pomáz is the gate to Pilis” touristic information

centre may be created. The Infopoint supplies with perfect opportunities for

personal information acquisition, as well as an excellent platform of

appearance for enterprices with touristic services.

The objective of the ‘Scene – Adventure – Comfort’ is to increase the touristic

cooperation of the settlements in Pilis that are connected to the touristic

paths. With this objective the development of the complex touristic packages

and their creative planning has got a great importance. Moreover the

development of tourism related databases, their continuous updating and

maintenance are also of high priority.

Estimated impacts - Increasing touristic demand.

- Increasing marketing activities with the “Gate of Pilis” trademark.

- Good quality information supply.

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- Sinergies among the touristic routes and comples, comprehensive touristic

packages.

- The good touristic database makes the cultural and touristic life of the region

vivid.

Estimated costs

Ivolved stakeholders Municipality of Pomáz, local TDM organisation, touristic services

Priority of measures MEDIUM

Measure 3 The complex touristic development of Szigetmonostor


measure

Szigetmonostor is a village with a population of 2,200 people, situated at the

southern part of the Szentendrei Island. The complex touristic development

by the self-government of the village focuses ona wide range of touristic

thematic areas. The investments focus on the development of active tourism:

the creation of bicycle roads, hors riding paths amd study paths (with guided

tours) may be developed during the 2014 – 2020 period. The further

objectives of the developments are to liven the banks of the Danube, and to

link them by a larger rate tot he touristic life of the settlement.

Szigetmonostor wants the construction of a port and an eco-beach. The ex-

pionier camp site has not been used for a long time; however it could serve as

an excellent visitor centre and museum. Currently neither the quality nor the

quantity of the touristic accomodations are acceptable, thus their

development is an inevitable element of the complex touristic development of

Szigetmonostor. Another element of the plans is the development of a new

festival that will be made even more picturesque by exhibitions and other

services, supplying the tourists that are interested in culture with an excellent

way of relaxation.

Estimated impacts - Increase the importance of horse and bike tourism in the region by creating

new paths.

- The intensive touristic usage of the Danube waterside gives new possibilities

to the already active region.

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- The planned visitors’ center and the development of accomodations increase

the number of guest nights.

- Higher importance of marketing activities (partly because of the new

festival).

Estimated costs

Ivolved stakeholders Municipality of Szigetmonostor, regional development organisations, touristic

services


Measure 4 The expected investments in the city of Visegrád


measure

Visegrád is situated on the right side of the Danube with a population of a

Duna jobb partján elhelyezkedő, mindössze 1,800 people, but it is considered

to be the most frequently visited destionation in the area of the Bend of the

Danube. That is why the development of tourism is so important for the city

that is targeting the banks of the Danube taking a greater role in tourism, and

the development of a new destination. The water tourism features of Visegrád

are excellent; however the city has not been able to make use of this

advantage (the main reason is the investment in the Bős-Nagymaros Barrage).

The bank of the Danube will be developed in three ways in the near future:

the development of the pool, beach at the bank,

the construction of a boat house

the construction of a port where small size boats, ships can port.

The sustainable exhibition of the remaining ruins of the Roman limes has an

important role in the destination development. The remaining parts of the

limes are easily accessable at the moment; the investments are aming to

create an even more attractive environment for the even wider introduction.

Fort he touristic usage it is important to create the link of the ruins with the

Danube, and also of a playground. The value of the touristic development of

the ruins of the limes is increasing, since these ruins (Ripa Pannonica) one of

the world heritages by UNESCO.

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Estimated impacts - The increasing demand for water tourism results the increase of the number

of visitors.

- The city of Visegrád can become an important stop of the Vienna-Budapest

shipline.

- The city can increase the number of visitors by becoming protected world

heritage (Roman limes at the Danube river).

Estimated costs

Ivolved stakeholders local TDM organization, regional development organizations, touristic

services, civil organisations, museums, municipality of Visegrad, ship

companies

Priority of measures HIGH

Measure 5 Additional investments in the area of the Bend of the Danube aiming at the

development of tourism and the increase of the sector


measure

The projects initiated by the settlements in the area of the Bend of the

Danube:

Bernecebaráti: the creation of a unified local and micro-region coordination

office, so that the tourism and the related services of the area would be

coordinated by one organisation that is operating in a unified framework.

Kisoroszi: the development of the alley and the horseriding paths at the bak of

the Danube.

Kóspallag: the development of the hiking tourism, study paths and the related

board / signpost systems.

Márianosztra and the city of Szob: the development of the narrow gauge train.

Tahitótfalu: the realisation of a swim-house, the development of horse riding

paths, the creation of a youth camp.

Vác: the development of the accomodations and the baths, the creation of a

free beach area.

Estimated impacts - Increasing demand for the reconstrudted and developed accomodations that

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results increasing number of visitors and spent nights in the region (especially

among the active tourists).

- Common marketing and presence on the market of the settlements due to

the similar touristic activities.

- Increase of the usage of sustainable transport possibilities in the region.

Estimated costs

Ivolved stakeholders Local municipalities, local TDM organisations, touristic services


4.3 Consultation Process

The local actors should be involved in the work processes of the strategy developped in the framework of the

Transdanube project regarding the sustainable mobility and the tourism of the Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet

/ Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube. With this objective we held a workshop in Budapest on 26th

September 2013, where we invited the planners of County Pest, and the TDM organisations of the area. In the

workshop we got familiar with the latest pieces of information regarding the 2014-2020 planning, and then the

organisations introduced themselves in details: they described their main activities, their results, and described

their visions. The workshop created a perfect opportunity to discuss the problems of the touristic life of the

Bend of the Danube, defining the measures that should be taken to eliminate them, and to define the necessary

conditions that may be expected in the coming period. We have learnt about the concrete initiatives of the

organisations, however, concrete projects with the related financial plans and indicators cannot be defined due

to the lack of the planning process (the information regarding the lanning are continuously changing). County

Pest in the framework of the planning processes of the VEKOP operative programme has completed a survey in

the settlements, from the initiatives we introduce the project initiatives in connection with tourism of the

settlements in the Dunakanyar Kiemelt Üdülőkörzet / Holiday Area of the Bend of the Danube in chapter 2.4,

which can be inserted in the four main development areas of our work: the issues of the development of the

sustainable transport methods, the creation of the touristic products and packages, information services and

collective marketing activities, as well as the organisational and legal framework.

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5 ANNEX

List of references

DATOURWAY- A Duna mente fenntartható nemzetközi stratégiája, különös tekintettel a turizmus fejlesztésére

(Nemzeti Viszgálat, Budapest, 2010)

DATOURWAY- Stratégia- A Duna menti térség transznacionális területfejlesztési stratégiája, különös tekintettel a

turizmusra

A kerékpáros turizmus fejlesztési stratégiája (2010-2015)- Készítette: Econoconsult Kft. és COWI Magyarország

Kft. (2010)

A Budapest-közép-dunavidéki region turisztikai stratégiája (jelentés)- Készítette: Magyar Turizmus Zrt. (2006)

Dunakanyar Fenntartható Turizmusfejlesztési Stratégia- Marketing Stratégia Készítette: Dunakanyar Térségi

Fejlesztési Tanács megbízásából: EuroSpa Hungary Kft. (2006)

Dunakanyar Fenntartható Turizmusfejlesztési Stratégia: Készítette: Dunakanyar Térségi Fejlesztési Tanács

megbízásából: EuroSpa Hungary Kft. (2006)

Transdanube: The State of the Art- Dunakanyar

Pest megye Területfejlesztési Koncepciója- Helyzetfeltárás (2012, Budapest)

Pest megye Területfejlesztési Koncepciója- Javaslattevő Fázis II. kötet Egyeztetési változat (2013 április)

Pest Megyei Területfejlesztési Nonprofit Kft projektgyűjtésének leválogatása (turizmus területére)

Documents

REGIONAL ACTION PLAN Budapest, Pest …transdanube.eu/uploads/contenteditor/Regional_Action_Plans/TD_PP4... · 3.2.3 SWOT-analysis ... Pest belong to the area of the DKÜ.3 The Szentendre