The future of Budapest’s party district has been in question for years. Now the district mayor has come up with a new idea to create a cultural centre in Inner-Erzsébetváros.

According to Péter Niedermüller, this area has become identified with the “so-called” party district, which despite its economic benefits, has relatively low cultural and social value if a district is about nothing more than unlimited drinking, drunkenness, drug dealing or prostitution.

As he says, the aim of the transformation project – which has not been accepted yet –

"is to squeeze these things out of the area and instead offer quality hospitality and cultural events."

As the Hungarian news portal Index reports, the mayor’s idea is to unite with other districts and organise joint events for both younger and older generations. This way a cultural corridor can be created from Petőfi Bridge to Nyugati Railway Station, which can be a new scene not only for the individual districts but also for the whole capital. The only question is:

"with the disappearance of the party district, what kind of financial downturn can be expected?"

According to the mayor, if they offer high-quality events, hospitality and tourism, they will not necessarily lose significant revenue, quality will compensate for quantity. As he says, the point is to generate revenue that is backed up by quality output.

The municipality has indicated that caterers and accommodation providers have not yet been consulted on the plans. The public consultation will consider the views of residents and experts, and will also consult with businesses operating in the area, including catering and entertainment establishments.

The residents of the district are certainly happy about the initiative, as the silencing of the party district was already planned before the pandemic. This idea could bring significant changes to the overall tourism landscape in the Hungarian capital.

"So far the number of tourists is still negligible in Hungary – reported by the Hungarian news portal Népszava. Last year, foreign visitors started to return to Hungarian hotels and guesthouses, but there were still far fewer of them than in the pre-pandemic period."

According to the latest data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office, in 2021 foreign guests spent 25.4% more nights in hotels, guesthouses and campsites in Hungary – 10.5 and 4.7 million nights respectively. However, the increase is only significant compared to 2020, a year heavily burdened by epidemic restrictions. Hotel and guesthouse turnovers are still far behind the figures seen before the virus emerged.