The FINA World Championships is a great opportunity to increase the popularity of the Balaton

Balatonfüred will be a key venue for the 17th FINA World Championships and the FINA World Masters Championships this summer. The event could have a great impact on the development of not only the city but the whole region. Balázs Balassa, president of the Lake Balaton Association and mayor of Szigliget agrees.

The 2017 FINA World Championships will be the biggest sport event in Hungary’s history, and Balatonfüred will be one of the venues. How big opportunity is that for the region and how can it benefit from the event?

Every event that helps make the Lake Balaton more popular among the sports fans around the world is very important. The World Championships is a great opportunity to increase the popularity of the Balaton. We, who live in the region exactly know that this beautiful lake and the surroundings, as well as the high-quality services around the lake make this area perfect for both recreation and active tourism. It is the responsibility of us and the organisers to keep and even improve more this positive image in connection with the World Championships.

Open water swimming has a great tradition around the Lake Balaton, we can think of the Bay Swim of Baron Miklós Wesselényi, the famous swim of Kálmán Szekrényessy or the major open water events in Balatonfüred (World Cup, Junior World Championships, European Cup). Can we say that Balatonfüred is a cultic venue of this sport?

I think we can confirm that open water swimming has great tradition in every cities and villages around the Lake Balaton. Balatonfüred has already proved in other areas as well that it vivificates the traditions and has an important role in utilizing them. Füred has shown in recent years that it can organise open water events in a very high level, providing the athletes some memorable days during the competitions.

Do you think the World Championships can help the process of boosting quality tourism in the region? Athletes, family members and fans will arrive from all over the world, also from countries where the Lake Balaton has not been well known yet.

As I mentioned, the Lake Balaton region is already appropriate for quality tourism, and the ongoing developments will further improve the situation. The World Championships will stimulate this process. The event is a great opportunity for Balatonfüred and the lake to make the region more popular internationally. The leaders and inhabitants of Balatonfüred, as well as the inhabitants of the region can not wait for the World Championships, because they are aware of its long-term positive effects on the local tourism.

The FINA World Championships will be followed by the FINA World Masters Championships in August, where senior athletes will compete in different disciplines, like open water swimming. There will be much more athletes in Balatonfüred in that period than in July, so can we say that in a sense it will be an even more significant event?