I am working with tourism in Budapest and I do help tourists with all sorts of stuff in the city. But, to be honest, I would normally receive more emails in 2-3 hours on a normal day, than I have received about tourist-related issues in the last 15 months. With no interest at all, even websites I work with have been completely dead and I haven't touched them or updated them in this period of time.
It might have been a mistake not focusing on them because it could have given me an advantage whenever tourists start coming to Budapest again, but I somehow considered other tasks to be more important!
Things are changing...
The websites are coming back to life. I have done more updates in the last two days than I have in the 15 months before that. I have started to write about upcoming events, and it feels good to be back again. Still, foreign tourists are not yet really arriving in Budapest. Some might come to enjoy the three matches that will be played in Budapest during the European Championship in football, but besides that, it is still really quiet.
The three matches that will be played in Budapest are Hungary against Portugal (June 15), Hungary against France (June 19), and France against Portugal (June 23). Quite cool matches, aren't they? It should also be mentioned that Puskas Ferenc Stadion will be the only one in Europe running at 100% capacity, meaning that there will be more than 60,000 spectators at the arena during the matches. It might be risky, but it is for sure cool, not only for the audience but also for the players to be able to play in front of a packed stadium once again.
But, if things remain the way they are right now, then my gut tells me that at the start of the autumn, tourists will return to Budapest again, quite much like they did before. That would be really great, not only for those working with tourism but because it would tell us that the world is getting closer to normal again!
Source: Pixabay
Do you have any activity that is coming back to life again?
I know that COVID is in different phases all around the world, but in Hungary and in other parts of Europe, it seems as if life is starting to return to quite normal again. What's up where you live? And what are your feelings... are there any activities or things that you haven't done in the last months and year that you have started again now after isolation and lockdown?