Márton Nagy said that the government allocated HUF 10 billion (EUR 25 million) this year to launch new direct, long-haul flights, for example, to the USA, Japan, or India. Hungary opens up to the East and the West alike, he added in an interview given after the opening of the Osaka World Expo in Japan.
New long-haul flights from Budapest?
Máron Nagy mentioned the possible new flights in an interview with Index. He said he raised the question of a direct Japan-Budapest flight to Japan’s economy minister. He added the task was not simple because the market is ruled by two big airlines in the Far-Eastern country, but he saw an option to realize it.
He said they would spend EUR 25 million this year to launch new flights to e.g. the USA, Japan, or India. Therefore, the ministry created an air travel marketing programme. He added that the government was in talks with Japanese budget airlines about possible long-haul flights to the Hungarian capital.
Photo: FB/Budapest Airport
He cleared that the lack of a direct flights was the biggest obstacle in increasing the number of Japanese tourists visiting Budapest. That is a crucial task since the Japanese are among the high-spending tourists.
Osaka World Expo’s Hungarian pavilion opened
The Osaka World Expo is one of the world’s largest cultural, touristic and economic events, and also an unparalleled diplomatic and economic development opportunity, Márton Nagy, the national economy minister, said at the opening of the Hungarian pavilion on Sunday.
Photo: MTI
The fact that Hungary joins exhibitors with a national pavilion alongside almost 160 states this year is of serious national economic significance, as more than 28 million visitors are expected during the nearly 6 months of the expo, Nagy said.
The minister said the Hungarian pavilion was among the first to be completed in just under a year. This was due to the coordinated, high-level professional work of the Hungarian and Japanese construction contractors. The first visit of the Japanese minister responsible for the expo took him to this pavilion on the opening day, which is a tribute to the entire country, he added.
Photo: MTI
Photo: MTI
Travel to Hungary
Nagy said the pavilion aims to arouse the desire to travel to Hungary as the East Asian region is one of the most dynamically growing tourism source markets for Hungary. In the first quarter of 2025, the region’s total guest traffic to Hungary increased by 40 percent compared to the same period in 2024, with the number of Japanese guests increasing by 36 percent and the number of guest nights increasing by 14 percent.
The latest data confirms that 2025 will be another record year for Hungarian tourism, especially for those arriving from East Asia, the minister added, noting that the tourism sector is responsible for 13 percent of Hungary’s GPD.
Photo: MTI
Photo: MTI
Nagy said Japan is one of the most important strategic, political and economic partners of Hungary and there are more than 180 Japanese companies operating here. They discussed strengthening business and economic relations with several government officials, he added.
Architect Gábor Zoboki, responsible for the architectural concept of the Hungarian pavilion, said the main theme of the exhibition is understanding and planning the society of the future. Natural building materials dominated the creation of the three-story facility, he added.
Photo: MTI
The Japanese ultra-high-speed railway Shinkansen’s Sin-Osaka station. Photo: MTI
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AloJapan.com