VOL. 32. NUMBER 22 | NOVEMBER 29 – DECEMBER 12, 2024
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SPECIAL REPORT INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Christmas Shopping
Tourism in Hungary at its Highest in Years. Will it Remain in the New Year? Tourism rates in Hungary are currently the highest they have been in the past four years, and with the Holiday Season upon us once again, the country hopes to further increase the guests it attracts through its Christmas markets. 15
The Nutcracker: An Elegant Opera House Christmas Present For decades, seeing the “Nutcracker” ballet at the Opera House in Budapest has been part of Christmas for countless Hungarian families and visitors from abroad drawn by the tradition. 16
Putting the Customer at the Center
SOCIALITE
The Bookshop-Café Hidden in Budapest’s Jewish Quarter Kester Eddy meets Judit Pecák, who owns and runs Massolit. It is, she believes, the only bookstore-café in the Hungarian capital today dedicated to selling solely new and second-hand Englishlanguage books. 20
NEWS
Investment Data Explains Weak GDP
BUSINESS
Mathias Mentrop, CEO of Penny Hungary, discusses what the retailer does to stand out from the crowd, sourcing local products, charity fund raising and plans for 2025. 10
The two-year downswing in Hungarian investments continued in the third quarter of this year, with the indicator necessary for economic growth hitting a multi-year low, according to data released by the Central Statistical Office. The low investment is expected to restrain economic growth. 3
BUSINESS
Szijjártó Augurs ’Golden Age’ for U.S.-Hungary Relations It is time to get to the negotiating table in the war in Ukraine as the conflict has cost Europe much already, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó told an AmCham Business Forum on Nov. 20. 11