Gourmet Festival

Gourmet Festival again! Zsófia Margitay created this great video about a fest and feast in Millenáris Park, May 31- June 2 this year. Tickets are from 2900 HUF. Don’t go by car as you will taste amazing wine, as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXApPujJIN0

The ticket includes:

• a Spiegelau wine glass,
• a wine tasting of the Szent Tamás Winery Mád Furmint 2012 from Tokaj,
• a BBC Good Food Magazine,
• and a lot of exciting and interesting programs and tastes on the OTP Club gastro stage.

Every day the first 1000 guests receive:

• a beef carpaccio by Metro Vevőakadémia,
• a sample of Hungária Rosé Extra Dry champagne,
• a cup of espresso by the baristas of the Hungarian Coffee Association.

Reporting a press conference

This is a brilliant sample report! Please mind that this was a fictitious press conference, therefore the facts/info content might be inaccurate!!

Hungarian tourism thrives on foreign capital

– report on the governmental press conference, 26-04-2012, Flora Linczmayer –

We are now far ahead in May, and the high season of tourism is just knocking on the door. With the intention to provide the public with an overall view on the country’s tourism, the Ministry of National Economy held a press conference to bring forward the touristic activity taking place within the borders of Hungary.

What the average citizen can definitely tell back from many years’ experience is that in Hungary tourism is and has always been an important issue. However, the real question is how important role does it play concerning the revenues of the state. Statistics have shown that visits to places of Hungary have risen significantly, the number of visitors being almost the double as it has been earlier with an escalating percentage of 40. This resulted in the increase of GDP between 2005 and 2007 explained by the growing tendency of people coming to the Carpathian Basin, who are also willing to spend their money beyond their borders.

But what is so attractive to foreigners in our small country? “Among their incentives lie reasons similar to Hungarian residents’, such as going on holidays or VFR. But what is outstanding compared to participants to domestic tourism is that they more frequently use health & wellness facilities that we ourselves do. They often come and stay not only for a long interval, but also for a shorter halt, since Budapest is becoming a greater business headquarter year by year.” – a government expert said.

While inbound tourism composes a large bit of Hungary’s internal tourism, domestic tourism gives only 20%. The reason behind it can be well described by the type of accommodation that Hungarian residents tend to choose when leaving their homes. The average Hungarian travels to visit the relatives or friends and sleeps over at the host’s; or when he is on vacation, he prefers cheap motels or apartments which are isolated from the crowds. Therefore it is the financial situation that determines the conditions that a Hungarian tourist decides for accommodation.

As for what regions of Hungary are worth for taking a few days off, there is a great emphasis on the western territories. Foreigners arriving at the country from beyond the western borders hardly cross the Danube and reach the northern mountain range. It can also be observed, that many of the famous sights can be found to extent of the Danube as at the ancient times only the western half was the part of the Roman Empire and thus culturally rich. What still makes the Dunántúl so popular is the fact that Lake Balaton lies there which is visited by 60% of all participating in internal tourism.

In conclusion, what we might state is that the prospering future of Hungary and its people relies on the capital of foreign investments and inbound tourism, people coming with the plan to relax (rather at Lake Balaton) or to spend a few days in the capital with initiating and maintaining business relationships. All we need to do is prepare a friendly welcome for their arrival!

Chernobyl as a tourist destination

Today is the 27th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion. According to the Wikipedia, the Chernobyl disaster was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine (then officially Ukrainian SSR). An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, which spread over much of Europe. The Chernobyl disaster is widely considered to have been the worst nuclear power plant accident in history, and is one of only two classified as a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale (the other being the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011). Common sense would suggest that people should avoid this place at all cost. Instead, tourism is flourishing in the area. This type of alternative tourism belongs to dark tourism, which is also called catastrophy tourism, grief tourism or black tourism. But people also want to visit abandoned amusement parks.

Dániel Panka wrote a comprehensive report about tourism in and around Chernobyl.
http://issuu.com/adorjanmary/docs/chernobyl_tourism_by_daniel_panka

A Japanese study tour in Hungary (with possible English script)

A Japanese study tour in Hungary

Good morning, dear viewers! Today we’re continuing our exciting journey through the countries of Europe. Our next station is Hungary!

Welcome to Budapest, the heart of the continent. This wonderful city, which is colourful in every aspect, has a rich history and is situated in the middle of the country. Buda and Pest, the 2 main parts of the city are connected by 9 bridges, altogether.

-We’re travelling now on the Danube, the biggest river of Hungary which separates the two parts of the city. This is the Pest side. Look, this is the Parliament! Isn’t it majestic? Did you know that it’s the 2nd largest parliament building in Europe and the 3rd largest in the world?

And on the other bank of the Danube, it’s the Buda Castle. And that’s the Chain Bridge, and we’re going under it now, it’s so much fuuuuun! 😀

Budapest has about 1,7 million inhabitants. Especially at night, when the public lighting glistens, it has a special atmosphere and also a busy nightlife. They don’t call it “Pearl of the Danube” for nothing.

-And at last, we’re here! This is the famous statue of Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary.

Empress Elisabeth was the wife of Franz Joseph, the Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The royal couple was crowned King and Queen of Hungary in 1867. The event was immortalized by the famed painting of Eduard Engerth. Elisabeth’s life inspired a successful musical which was translated into several languages and arrived to us into Japan, as well.

-Elisabeth lived here. Oh my God, the architecture is breath-taking. The chandelier is such an impressive artwork!

-And we’re here in the confectionery now. Those delicious cakes! I think I will try one of them, I can’t miss it. They look so yummy!

But Hungary is much more than that. If we travel towards the east, we arrive at the Great Plain with its diverse species of plants and animals. Hungarians are proud of their domestic animals, such as the Puli (one of the 9 dog breeds originating in Hungary), Grey cattle, Mangalica and the Racka sheep.

– I can’t believe. They’re so cute with those twisted horns.

The other main river of the country is the Tisza. Every year, the hatch of the mayfly in mid-June is a great tourist attraction, known as “Tisza blooming”.

Tokaji aszú – The famous Hungarian dessert wine

Kristóf Pap’s report tells you all you need to know about this famous wine. http://issuu.com/adorjanmary/docs/tokaj

Read the description of the cultural landscape in the Tokaj region from the website of a Frenchman making wine in the Tokaj region. http://samueltinon.com/english/tinons-media/photogallery-tokaj/

Try Tag Galaxy

I tried the site Tag Galaxy http://www.taggalaxy.de by writing the tag Hungary. The globe I received consists of more than 700,000 images. You can try the link with different tags. The results are amazing.

Internet genres of tourism

Review of Budapest – A Critical Guide by Török András displayed in the online shop http://www.polc.hu/konyv/budapest__a_critical_guide/712544/

This book tries to combine three types of guides with the advantages of all three: the Baedeker type, the critical guidebook and the alternative guide-book. It tries to serve you as an “invisible host”.
There is a Hungarian saying for things that seem impossible: ‘an iron ring made out of wood’. Even if this book cannot overcome the language difficulties, it is designed to put the visitor at ease when making his own plans to discover the city. After all, it is easier to get help with the language from friends, business partners, interpreters or hotel receptionists, than to get ideas for spending one’s time.
Click on the book to look inside or follow this link: http://static.polc.hu/previews/pdf/00/71/25/712544.pdf (Pages from 236 are worth reading to see how the author mixes carefully researched facts with subjective impressions of possible attractions.)

You should also

•Find a good restaurant review

•http://www.ehow.com/how_5071677_write-restaurant-reviews.html (good instructions)

•Find a good description of a national dish

•Find a concise description of a national / regional cuisine

Then:

Recommend a restaurant using these categories:

•Location

•Atmosphere, environment

•Selection /range of specialities

•Food and drink

•Staff / service

•Background music

•Prices

•Level of formality

Possible expressions are e.g.:… a la carte and a fixed price menu …/… to the tunes of live folk music … / … convenient for travellers /… widely acclaimed for haute cuisine …/ excellent range of  …

A sample speech on cultural tourism

Cultural heritage and the challenges of tourism / by Karina Pintér

Good morning ladies and gentleman, today I will talk about cultural heritage and the challenges of tourism.

There is nothing new about the concept of visiting historic places. We have always loved to explore buildings of the past. It has grown a popular pastime activity.

So what does the expression ‘cultural heritage’ mean? There are some concepts, which we have to clear up, first of all. Cultural heritage is something that is inherited from the past, maintained in the present and conserved for the future. This concept includes many things connected to history, values, sites, arts, and lifestyles from the past. Natural heritage means culturally-significant landscapes, and biodiversity.

The preservation or conservation of cultural heritage is the responsibility of the current generation. So how can we preserve it for the next generations? Of course, we can collect artifacts in museums. But what can we do with buildings, districts or whole towns which are connected to historical events or personalities? Fortunately, there are world heritage, national and regional heritage movements, that do the preservation work. There are 911 world heritage sites listed in the world.

A big problem of preservation is to maintain the authenticity of a site. There is a need in modern tourism for ‘heritage experience.’ That is the reason for historical theme parks whose historical accuracy is questionable. Among the motivations to build these theme parks, of course there is a demand for the past. The question is that these parks have their own identity or they are just fantasy?

Another important question is to rebuild or not to rebuild historical buildings. We can theme for their original purposes, in which case we have to rebuild them. Or we can use them as aids for exploring history, in which case we need to conserve them in their original state.

In conclusion, we have many questions to deal with, because we are the current generation with the responsibility to bestow our cultural heritage for the future.

Please note the rethorical structure. Grab the attention of your audience. Lead your listeners/readers from one topic to the other. Don’t overcomplicate your speech. Compare and contrast ideas. Be interesting. For two minutes all eyes are on you. This is your great moment.

Interesting representations of Budapest and Hungary

These two promotional videos represent the many sides of Hungary and the capital city. They highlight various dimensions of culture conveying positive images. In 2011, the Riga International Festival of Tourism Films awarded one of the two videos, Hungary – World of Potentials as best in Culture films category. It also received the Grand Prix of the Festival.

Hungary World of Potentials

Budapest Business Region – Get engaged

Layers to observe in the videos:1. Inventions, inventors (past and present), creativity, products 2. Tourists and people who live here 3. Music 4. Destnations 5. Activities

The weekend of March 15-17

While thousands of people spent the night in cars on the M1 motorway this weekend in Hungary, preparations for the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations continued in many parts of the world. Landmark buildings, sculptures, towers, bridges, and natural wonders lit up in a green glow, as part of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening campaign to promote Irishness.