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Tour guides can transform tourist experiences. This is particularly evident in TV-series themed tours where tourists' expectations are more likely to be met if a guide leads them into different dimensions of space and time. Here, we develop a model of the multidimensional realities of mediatized places by applying grounded theory, capturing how the transformative role of tour guides is key to the creation of memorable experiences. We illustrate how guides choreograph the shifts between multidimensional realities (past, present, fantasy world). Finally, we show that this switching between multidimensional realities has significant implications, specifically resulting in greater tourist involvement and in experiences that are remembered as having been beyond expectations. Our findings reveal the importance of detailed knowledge – of both the relevant fiction and local history – in crafting memorable experiences; highlights the skills required to build trust among participants, and discusses the devices used to cross the boundaries between multidimensional realities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) is the main driver of domestic travel in many countries. This study is one of the first to analyse VFR travel from a perspective of tourist experience. This study aims to investigate the complex dynamics behind VFR-related travel, especially in aspects of trip activities and tourist experience formation. Based on a survey (N = 879) examining domestic VFR travellers' trip activities in Hungary, the paper discusses the formation of a tourist experience in context of short-haul domestic VFR travel, especially the role of influencing factors. The results reveal differences between the segments with trip motivation of visiting friends (VF) and visiting relatives (VR) – the two main types of VFR tourists. It was found that independent variables such as VF, staying for longer and participating in leisure and tourism-type activities have a positive effect on tourist experience evolvement; however, factors such as VR, being rather passive during such a visit and focusing on social acts and bonding negatively affect the formulation of a tourist experience. The paper's novelty and uniqueness lies in applying a new perspective of analysing and discussing VFR travel: the theoretical concept of tourist experience formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between urban planning and tourism consumption is presented through one of the most attractive and popular districts of Budapest (District VII). Budapest is the capital city of Hungary and has a population of 1.7 million inhabitants making it one of the largest metropolitan regions in Central Eastern Europe. Budapest is typical of many other post-socialist cities in that its urban development process has followed a somewhat different trajectory from many Western European cities until recently, for example the relatively slow rate of gentrification in the post-socialist years. The paper will focus in particular on one central district of the city (VII) which currently contains a high concentration of hospitality and entertainment facilities (especially ‘ruin pubs’) and attracts a large numbers of tourists. The planning and development history of the district will be explained, including many controversies and conflicts which have arisen over the years. In addition to analysing the significance of the areas’ heritage and the intensive growth of the creative industries, the paper will also provide a case study about the Budapest-specific ‘ruin bar’ phenomenon, as well as data on the global issue of Airbnb, which is becoming an extremely topical and controversial issue in many other cities in the world today. ‘Ruin bars’ and Airbnb represent local and global examples of tourism consumption which have flourished despite or even because of an unstructured, often unregulated urban planning system. Through this examination, two main questions are addressed: to what extent has planning (or a lack of it) influenced urban development and the new trends of international tourism in Budapest? and what role has tourism played in the transformation of a central district within the inner city? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older adults in countries with a relatively high standard of living are regarded as a highly influential consumer segment. However, the economically disadvantaged, invalids and lone travelers all face a variety of external and internal barriers to travel and social interaction. By contrast, “quest archetype” journeys, such as religious tourism and pilgrimages, provide opportunities for companionship, whilst also helping to alleviate an individual’s negative perceptions of ageing and later life. The main objectives of the research were to explore how older adults report their archetypal experiences and how they are perceived by the young. The generic purposive sampling comprised 345 Hungarian respondents. In the multi-generational sample, in-depth interviews were carried out with the youngest (23%) and the oldest (21%) age groups to explore the different perceptions of ageing. Narrative segments were analyzed within the framework of one particular archetypal quest, the legend of the Holy Grail. The study here attempts advances knowledge of the best approaches to assessing those travel narratives which employ archetypal legends. At the same time, service providers in the field of religious tourism can also benefit from the results in their management of holy sites with the needs and wishes of the older generation in mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, based on qualitative research in Hungary, we propose a new phrase for the field of tourist consumption. Our notion ‘anti-shopping tourism’ refers to the resistant attitude towards consumption and spending money during shopping-related tours. The research discussed in the paper analyses participants’ motivations, attitudes and behaviour on one-day coach trips that include various programmes, for example, sightseeing, lunch, spa visits and even a range of gifts, for a very low price, in exchange for participation in a professional sales show during the trip. Our main goal is to explain and, from an economic and anthropological point of view, conceptualise this form of tourist attitude, and to show how this unique way of travel may be situated in a certain historical setting in Hungary, more than two decades after the collapse of the socialist regime. In order to understand how the participating individuals negotiated this unique form of travel that exists in a grey zone of the institutionalised travel industry, notions such as debt, sacrifice, resistance, gift, seduction and informal contract are discussed and connected to the phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism and migration are increasingly important elements of human mobility, but surprisingly little effort has been made to investigate the interrelationship between these in Hungary. Reviewing the literature on the tourism-migration nexus, the article identifies a number of relevant themes for applying to the Hungarian case, as well as a number of theoretical and empirical challenges. In this paper, two main themes are emphasized. First, the seasonality of tourism flows and, secondly, property acquisition by foreigners. These themes are examined from a macro perspective, using secondary, register-based data. Although the main emphasis has been placed on analysing the spatial patterns of the phenomena studied, the social characteristics are also considered. A number of conclusions are discussed about the relationships between tourist and migration flows, and foreign property ownership, set in the context of the European Union's freedom of movement provisions, and the implications for Hungary in terms of near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationships between crime and tourism in Hungary with special reference to spatial and temporal aspects, focusing on the main groups of offences committed against foreign tourists and the problem of crime prevention. The study shows that trends in criminality are closely related to the number of tourists arriving and staying in Hungary and are less associated with general criminal conditions. Most of the victims are Germans; their cars, valuables, and wallets are particularly vulnerable to criminal activity. The density of crime is highest in Budapest, the capital, and in the region surrounding Lake Balaton during the summer season when levels of tourism are at their highest. Tourist information and frequent police controls are considered the most effective measures for crime prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]