It is April, and this is what would normally be a booming month for tourism in #Budapest, #Hungary, and lots of other cities all around the world. People want to get out after a long winter, and they are eager to experience new things, see new attractions, taste things they haven't eaten before, and to just run away from the stress of their daily lives. Due to COVID, those feelings are way stronger in many people now than they would normally be in a "normal" April month.
But, it doesn't matter how much you would like to travel or not at the moment... COVID has made sure that it is hard to cross borders, and even harder to book a nice hotel room and to enjoy a local dish at a restaurant in your area. And, if you long to visit Budapest and Hungary, things are way harder than in many other countries.
Source: Pixabay
What is the situation in Budapest and Hungary?
Hungary is probably one of the strictest countries in Europe, at the moment. Every single hotel in the country has been closed down for more than 4 months, and you are not even allowed to rent an apartment or anything (only for business purposes). All restaurants are closed, and you are not even allowed to enjoy a cup of coffee at a terrace outside the actual building of the restaurant or coffee house. In other words, there are no reasons at all to visit Hungary at the moment. Nature is still beautiful (as always), but the only way to actually sleep would be to bring a tent and sleep at some allowed place in the forest (if you want to do it in a legal way).
There is hope at the end of the tunnel!
But, there is hope, somewhere at the end of the tunnel! Hungary is the country in Europe with the highest percentage of vaccinated people, and we are promised to see big relief when the number of vaccinated will reach 4,000,000 people (40% of the population). We are currently somewhere around 3,400,000 people, meaning that the number isn't very far away.
Hopefully, we will see tourism return somewhat to normal around the end of May and start of June, thus opening for the chance to actually allow tourists into the country for the summer holiday.
I guess it isn't only Hungarians who want to go abroad, but also lots of people from elsewhere who would love to visit Hungary!
I can't wait for life to return to normal, even though I have my doubts about whether or not things will actually turn back to the old way ever again.