Spa tourism and culture – Walking tours in Hévíz and Keszthely

How is health tourism linked to culture? We asked Tamás Pálffy, the managing director of the Hévíz Tourism Non-profit Llc. and Zsanett Oláh, the managing director of the National Heritage Protection Development Non-profit Llc. about the secrets and opportunities of Hévíz and Keszthely.

“Hévíz is the perfect choice for health-conscious travellers, and this is not age- or disease-dependent,” says Tamás Pálffy, managing director of Hévíz Tourism Non-profit Llc. Hévíz is not only one of Hungary’s best-known tourist destinations, but also stands out worldwide for its unique natural features. Lake Hévíz, a biologically active natural bathing lake that offers year-round healing and relaxation, is one of the town’s greatest attractions. We talk about the development of Hévíz, its medical history and its openness to modern trends and sustainability. How can Hévíz stay competitive through continuous renewal, new services and projects, while remaining true to its traditional values?

Lake Hévíz is a unique natural formation, even in the world. There is no other biologically active natural lake of this size, with a water composition and temperature that allows year-round bathing. The lake is well known all over the world, as evidenced by the fact that it is very popular not only with domestic visitors but also with foreign visitors. But it is not only the Lake Hévíz itself that is famous, but also the complex recreational services offered by the Hévíz health programmes. The foundation of this reputation began in the first decades of the 20th century, when renowned physicians researched and promoted the beneficial health effects of the water and mud of Hévíz at professional forums. The therapies have been validated by numerous scientific experiments over the past decades.

The high mineral content of Hévíz medicinal mud, balneo- and physiotherapies and the weight bath developed by Dr. Károly Moll in Hévíz together form the pillars of the traditional Hévíz cure. These medicinal effects are independent of gender and age. They are as effective for children with scoliosis as they are for those with sports injuries, post-operative rehabilitation or joint disease. So it is no coincidence that many people enjoy the benefits of a quality holiday in Hévíz, even if it is just for a few days of recreation. The time spent here regenerates muscles and joints, and the stress-free, clean, green environment helps alleviate psychosomatic symptoms. The mist floating above and around the lake clears the airways and exercise in the open air, whether it's walking, running, cycling or hiking in the woods, keeps the body fitter.

The most extraordinary and true story about the healing power of the lake is linked to Nelly. Nelly was a young elephant donated to the Budapest Zoo by the circus because they could not employ her due to her leg pains. Emil Raitsits, the zoo’s vet, diagnosed incipient rheumatism and prescribed a warm, medicinal water cure. But you couldn’t take an elephant to the Széchenyi Baths to swim with the bathers in the thermal pools. So in 1913, she arrived in Hévíz with her caretaker to soak her aching feet in Lake Hévíz for weeks. Of course, the people of Hévíz loved the large spa guest, so they spoiled her with baskets of fresh fruit. Nelly got much better. Her treatment ended when the world war broke out.

Difficulties affecting people’s health and financial security, such as pandemics, war or inflation, affect sensitive sectors such as tourism, which is based on prosperity and security. In recent years, many of us have experienced first-hand that circumstances can change from one moment to the next and that we have little control over these changes. In this situation, it is important that we try to make the most of our opportunities, so that we are constantly changing and renewing ourselves. Hévíz is not the same today as it was five or even fifty years ago. The city, the services and the clientele are changing. A swampy, warm-water, muddy lake became one of the monarchy’s flourishing spa towns, and then, under socialism, the “Mecca for rheumatism sufferers”. Today we are trying to make it known to as many people as possible: Hévíz is the perfect choice for health-conscious travellers, and this is not age- or disease-dependent. The basis of fitness is quality rest.

Year after year, Hévíz is involved in projects that modernise itself again and again. I could mention the work in several international projects on sustainability and digitalisation, but one example is one of our personal favourites, the HéVíziBivaly Duathlon, launched in 2021. The amateur event is aimed at a target group that has not been interested in Hévíz due to previous habits and age restrictions, but can become regular visitors by getting to know the active tourist values of Hévíz. During the race in winter, the competitors paddle down a steaming stream filled with lake water to Fenékpuszta and then run back to the Lake Hévíz area.

Hévíz, while trying to preserve its uniqueness, wants to present the image of an evolving spa town open to the latest trends, development and sustainability. This is how we can remain competitive. However, it is also important to see that the last half century has seen a huge increase in the flow of information and mobility, allowing people to explore many places in the world, both online and face-to-face. There is huge competition in the “battle” for recognition, popularity and uniqueness.

There is, of course, the classic clientele: domestic holidaymakers and those who come to the city for health reasons, the Austrian and German clientele. For them, the destination has been around for a long time and there are some areas from which visitor numbers are up and down. For understandable reasons, the number of Russian and Ukrainian visitors is currently low, while the number of Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Croatian, Polish and Italian visitors from the region has been increasing steadily and significantly since the pandemic. But consumer habits have changed. While a few decades ago, stays of several weeks were common, nowadays stays of 2-4 nights are more common. The number of guests has increased significantly, while the number of guest nights has not yet reached the 2019 figures. We travel more, but on average we spend less time in one place. Hévíz is well known enough from a tourism point of view to attract many visitors from all over the world, and there are many outstanding tourist experiences nearby – Festetics Castle, Lake Balaton, Szigliget, National Park sites – which enhance and colour Hévíz’s appeal to all target groups.

Looking at the 2023 tourism ranking, Keszthely is in the top of the Hungarian tourism rankings: it is the fifth most visited town in the Lake Balaton region. This is partly due to the new or renovated hotels, and partly to the city’s cultural attraction, with the Festetics Castle at its heart. The monumental building plays a key role in the cultural offer of Lake Balaton, and indeed of the entire Western Transdanubian tourist region.

Visitors to the Festetics heritage sites are predominantly attracted during the summer months, so the improvements made in recent years have been designed to allow for multi-day visits regardless of the season. By the end of August 2024, nearly 200,000 domestic tourists had visited us, buying approximately 600,000 tickets for our exhibitions and tourist attractions, despite the extreme weather, as people prefer to cool off on the waterfront during the long weeks of hot weather. In order to further enhance the tourist attractiveness of the castle, we have offered visitors experiential programmes in addition to our six permanent exhibitions. In a unique setting, under the centuries-old trees of the castle park, we offered festivals, concerts and children’s activities. Among the most popular events in 2024 were the Night of Museums, the Secret Garden – NÖF X Massive Horizon electronic music festival, the Historical Horse Festival and the Kincsem Cinema and Symphony.

The Festetics Castle in Keszthely, which also serves as a museum and event centre, is one of Hungary’s most popular and most visited cultural centres.  The castle and the park play an important role in the daily life of Keszthely. In 2023, we handed over a number of developments financed by the European Union, totalling nearly seven billion forints, in the grounds of the castle and in the Fenékpuszta Grange. With the improvements that have been made, our aim has been to increase the number of tourist attractions of the monument, improve its technical condition and make it even more attractive to the visiting public at any time of the year! Five new rooms have been added to the Festetics Palace’s interior exhibition, and the rooms of the princess, the little prince and the maid are now open to visitors. We also opened our unique exhibition in Hungary, “Dinners of the aristocracy”, which presents the former banqueting room of the Festetics family, with a table richly decorated with artifacts. The main house in the park of the castle has also been renovated, with a historical playroom and a museum-education space in two rooms. The improvements have added two new dioramas to the Hunting Museum building, while touch-screen kiosks have been installed in both the Hunting Exhibition and the Historic Model Railway Exhibition to enrich the tourist attraction. Between the Hunting Museum and the newly built historic playhouse, a garden pathway has been created to enhance the visitor experience for families with young children. The former estate of the Festetics, the Fenékpuszta Grange, has also been completely renovated and is now a museum and event venue. The interactive exhibitions in the former stables take you back to the golden age of horse breeding and horse racing in Hungary.

As CEO of the NÖF, I arrived in 2022 with the idea of developing and introducing a new utilisation model nationwide that would attract visitors with enhanced tourist attractions, programmes and attractions, thus making the operation of monuments and historic parks more sustainable. In this spirit, more than 110 programmes were organised in Keszthely this year in the castle building and the historic gardens. I think it is important to point out that the improvements that have been made are not just for tourists visiting the area, but also bring value to the local communities. Every year, we try to innovate and create something new, but we don’t forget the old, beloved “classics”. The Night of the Museums is something that locals look forward to every year, as are the classical and popular music concerts during the summer evenings. The annual Memorial Day, the Festetics Concours d'Elegance, the Festival of Hunting Culture, Easter, Pentecost, Advent and the Historic Horse Festival are also very popular. We are grateful to our loyal visitors.

When people think of the Festetics heritage, most people think of the castles in Keszthely and Dég, although the historical family left us priceless cultural values in addition to their built heritage. An example of this is the Helikon Celebrations. This is a prestigious series of events where the region’s most talented secondary school students can test their skills and creativity against each other. In addition to the opening ceremony, the castle also hosts the competition. Generally speaking, our museum education programmes attract students, pupils, university students, teachers and trainers from all over the country. After two years, Be Massive Horizon returned to the gardens of Festetics Castle with Secret Garden, one of Hungary’s most renowned electronic music party series.

The figures for 2024 are still only partial, with nearly 200,000 visitors up to August. We welcomed roughly the same number of guests as in 2023, but at the same time we managed to increase our turnover. I am confident that this trend will continue throughout the year and that we will have another successful tourist season this year. In September, we organised the Festetics Concours d’Elegance veteran car beauty contest for cars built before 1960. With an unusual intention, we also organised the Autumn Night of Museums, where the private and public collections of Keszthely awaited the visitors with a rich programme of events! Also in the autumn, our Castle Crime interactive detective program debuted in Keszthely, during which our adventure-loving guests could uncover the details of a crime within the walls of Festetics Castle!

“Every year, we try to innovate and create something new, but we don’t forget the old, beloved classics either” – points out Zsanett Oláh, Managing Director of the National Heritage Conservation Development Non-profit Llc. (NÖF). In recent years, Keszthely has become one of the Lake Balaton region’s outstanding tourist centres, supported not only by its new and renovated hotels, but also by its cultural heritage. The town’s biggest attraction is the Festetics Castle and its programmes, which entertain visitors all year round. Our interview is about the Festetics heritage developments, new exhibitions and interactive experiences. In Keszthely, it’s not just the summer months that are attractive, with festivals and events all year round offering a wide range of activities for all ages.