Hungary in great need of guest workers in the tourism & hospitality sectors!

The tourism and hospitality sectors are faced with serious problems, making it impossible to predict how many businesses are directly threatened by closures. In addition to the problems directly caused by the coronavirus, the indirect effects of the epidemic, such as brutal inflation, rising energy prices due to the energy crisis, and labour shortages, are also major issues. Due to the latter, we will probably meet more and more non-Hungarian guest workers.

Wave of bankruptcies

At the sectoral level, the biggest victim of the coronavirus epidemic is certainly the tourism industry, in which, at the beginning of 2020, the usual operation stopped. The sector has since experienced several smaller ups during the more peaceful periods of the pandemic, but it is far from being back to normal.

During the winter, several iconic Budapest restaurants closed down, and pessimistic statements were made that a real wave of bankruptcies could start soon. According to many, up to 30% of restaurants in Budapest may close in the next period, although more optimistic forecasts say this rate is way too high.

One problem is that the costs have become high

The question now is not necessarily how many guests there are, but how much it will cost to provide the services, and who will be able to pay that amount.

The increase in the cost of labour, raw materials, and energy has now pushed up production costs to such an extent that a price increase of up to 30-40% could be expected, but this would not be tolerated by consumers everywhere.