Tourism focused analysis of narrow-gauge railways in Hungary

Abstract

Narrow-gauge railways showed rising significance as tourist attractions over the past few years in Hungary. This fact underlines the importance of complex evaluation regarding social, economic and environmental impact of development. This paper focuses on touristic and regional idiosyncrasies. One of the purposes of this article is to provide a review of the national or regional policy documents affecting the development of narrow-gauge railways. The National Narrow-gauge Railway Development Concept (Orszagos Kisvasuti Koncepcio; Transinvest Ltd, 2015) contains status overview, lists special targets and development alternatives both for infrastructure and for rolling stock. National Strategy for Tourism Development until 2030 (Nemzeti Turizmusfejlesztesi Strategia 2030; Hungarian Tourism Agency, 2017) also contains some relevant aspects; however goals for integrating narrow gauge railway services into main touristic attractions are not specific enough. For economic and financial viability analysis of narrow-gauge railway operation and maintenance, existing railway lines were categorized by tourist and mixed passenger traffic during assessment. Based on these quantities traffic categories were formulated. In touristic passenger demand expected change implicated by development was linked to main indicators of national economy by regression analysis to support demand forecast. For tourism-driven development of narrow-gauge railways identification of the attractive elements' touristic values has major importance. To support development plans of Hungarian narrow-gauge railways touristic potential matrices were devised, describing both current state and future estimates. The matrix of anticipated potentials may be used as directives for local touristic developments. Furthermore, several best-practice advices were also conceived to improve the effect of touristic utilization (e.g. use of hybrid timetables, capitalize on ecotourism, rebranding, etc). Two case studies (Narrow-gauge railways of Kecskemet and Balatonfenyves) are presented in the paper demonstrating the success of the advised methodology and for better identification of possible development options affected by the tourism potential. Best-practices show how the narrow-gauge rail services can help regional and local developments.