New Accommodation – New Jobs 7 November 2008
38 billion HUF investment, 800 new jobs, 1500 rooms and 160,000 square metres of commercial space – these are the main combined indicators of the 30 applicants approved funding for raising the standard of accommodation offered in the South Transdanubian region over the next two years with the help of funding of 10.5 million HUF in value granted through a tender procedure.
It is no secret that the investments, including among others, the six 4-star hotel developments in Pécs, are aimed at ensuring accommodation for tourists arriving in Pécs in 2010 to take part in the events organised within the framework of the European Capital of Culture project (Pécs2010 ECC). The 9 applications approved funding that envisage offering complex tourism packages and launching investments of 13 billion HUF in value promoting health tourism with the help of EU funding of 6.5 billion HUF also granted within the framework of the New Hungary Development Plan South Trandanubian Operational Programme (NHDP STOP) intend to link up with the cultural capital year programme and help fill hotels in the future as well once this programme comes to an end. The press conference announcing the applicants approved funding was held today in Pécs and Hencse.
It has now become possible to implement the development of six 4-star hotels in Pécs over the next two years with the help of EU funding, since the three new hotels planned in the immediate proximity of the ECC district have been granted funding over 1.5 billion HUF in value for completing these investments. The new 150-room wellness hotel to be built at the site of the former Balokány Swimming Pool was granted the highest amount of funding, i.e., 600 million HUF. Corso Hotel and Matias Hotel to be constructed in the same area have each been granted funding of nearly 500 million HUF in value. By implementing these developments, 295 rooms in the 4-star category with a total of 587 beds will be made available for tourists in the immediate proximity of the Pécs Conference Centre and Concert Hall (Opus2010) and the Zsolnay Cultural District.
In addition to the construction of the new accommodation venues, it will also be possible to develop three currently operating hotels from the non-reimbursable EU funding made available. Danubius Hotels Group was approved funding of nearly 560 million HUF for undertaking the reconstruction of Hotel Nádor on Széchenyi Square in the center of Pécs, during the course of which development Hotel Palatinos, which building is adjacent to Hotel Nádor, will be upgraded and the two hotels will be merged into a single 4-star hotel to form the 124-room Danubius Hotel Nádor. The development of Hotel Makár targets active, conference and wellness guests. In order to be able to cater for these guests, thirty 4-star apartments and two 4-star suites will be built as an extension to the current complex by investing funding of 300 million HUF in value. New services will be introduced and rooms will be converted in Hotel Laterum with the help of the 64 million HUF funding granted. The category of the hotel will change as a result of these developments: the currently 3-star hotel will be upgraded to 4 stars.
However, these developments not only affect Pécs, but equally impact the entire region as well. Thermal hotels will be built in Siklós and Mohács, the Polgár and the Bock Guesthouses in Villány will be renewed and major developments will also be launched at Wunderlich Hotel nestled in the heart of the southern wine-growing region in the settlement of Nagyharsány. Hotel Kapos will be completely transformed and will become the jewel of the main square of Kaposvár; a family wellness hotel called Wellamarin will be built in Zamárdi, whilst the MÁNDL manor house and training centre will be built in Nagyatád and major extensions will be built to the European Lakes golf centre in Hencse with the help of funding of nearly 600 million HUF in value.
The Baranya Adventure Trail – including Pécs, Orfű, Abaliget, Bikál, as well as Mecseknádasd - will be created with the help of EU funding of 1.8 billion HUF in value, whilst thermal spa developments representing several billion HUF in value are planned in Dombóvár-Gunaras, Tamási, Barcs, Kaposvár and Harkány and the Siklós-Mohács tourism axis will also be established.
The projects will be implemented with the help of EU funding through the co-financing of the European Regional Development Fund.