Relationships between International Tourism and Migration in Hungary: Tourism Flows and Foreign Property Ownership

Abstract

Abstract Tourism and migration are increasingly important elements of human mobility, but surprisingly little effort has been made to investigate the interrelationship between these in Hungary. Reviewing the literature on the tourism–migration nexus, the article identifies a number of relevant themes for applying to the Hungarian case, as well as a number of theoretical and empirical challenges. In this paper, two main themes are emphasized. First, the seasonality of tourism flows and, secondly, property acquisition by foreigners. These themes are examined from a macro perspective, using secondary, register-based data. Although the main emphasis has been placed on analysing the spatial patterns of the phenomena studied, the social characteristics are also considered. A number of conclusions are discussed about the relationships between tourist and migration flows, and foreign property ownership, set in the context of the European Union's freedom of movement provisions, and the implications for Hungary in terms of near future.