Hungary’s government plans to sell off 29 holiday resorts in state ownership worth a total of 10 billion forints (EUR 37m), tabloid Blikk said on Monday.
The government plans to part with all real estate except for its Lake Balaton resorts in Tihany and Balatonoszod.
One of the biggest items among property for sale is a 132-room hotel on the “Golden Beach” of Lake Balaton’s Siofok, estimated to value 400-600 million forints. Blikk said the government had already given notice to 218 hotel workers and caterers on the last day of 2009.
Government spokesman Domokos Szollar told the paper that it was too early to discuss any sales, but added that operating holiday accommodation cost the government 1 billion forints (EUR 3.7m) a year.
“We simply don’t have that kind of money,” Szollar told the paper, adding that the government must admit it does not have the expertise to run hotels. For this reason, we are ready to announce public tenders for the operation of 14 hotels, he told the paper.
Commenting on the planned sales, political analyst at Nezopont Institute Orsolya Szomszed told Blikk the government can legally make a decision on the sale of any property before the elections (in spring 2010), but this does not mean that voters could not raise their eyebrows at such a move.
http://www.blikk.hu/blikk_aktualis/vegkiarusitas-
eladjak-az-allami-szallodakat-2008399/
Good on Blikk for breaking this one, no?
@Erik: But stories about the ‘proposed’ sale of these have been surfacing and resurfacing for years. And even if they do, which ones are the keeping and can presumably ‘afford’? The ones reserved only for themselves!! Cheeky b******ds!!! Can’t afford to run them? These are massively subsidized and have been run at an increasing loss for years. Prices at Balatonőszöd haven’t changed since 2005, 8,000ft all in luxury and meals. Politicians and ‘dignitaries’ can even invite their friends at a slightly higher but still massively subsidized price.
Selling state-owned assets. This is to pay for Lendvai’s botox treatment, hair-dye, and iron lung survival equipment. Or, perhaps the MSZP election campaign?
Again, more confusion on my part.
If someone buys, for example, “a 132-room hotel on the “Golden Beach”" then they would do so to turn a profit. Why is it that this government couldn’t turn that profit and so benefit the nation?
It doesn’t wash that “the government must admit it does not have the expertise to run hotels”. For f$cks sake, it doesn’t require Gordon Bajnai to go and serve breakfast, have they ever heard of recruiting someone in the hotel that COULD run a hotel business.
And as for “Lendvai’s botox” @NemzetiPark, lets just hope they push that needle way in.
JD. Just to give you one example of not only government incompetence but the ineptitude shown across a host of different businesses courtesy of the the idiots that suppose to run them.
New golf course. Lot of government money invested.
At least thirty on the staff payroll. Beautiful course set in an ideal location near Lake Balaton.
Everything ready? What about customers/clientele to
pay the bills?
We produced a 30-page report for a marketing and advertising strategy (free of charge) aimed at bringing customers to the club. It took us six weeks to get it ready. We presented it to the board of directors.
They failed to respond to it in any way, shape or form.
They are in deep trouble now – no paying customers.
PS
They offered me something like 100 GBP to launch an international marketing campaign. This would have covered my bus fare home.
The Hungarian Tourist Office is a waste of time also.
I could give you another twenty, similar examples, where gross stupidity together with sharp practice go hand in glove here in the wonderful republic of Hungary.
Check out the latest on the Margit Bridge fiasco. Way behind schedule and costing a fortune. Perhaps double the original amount quoted.
Interesting Turista.
But honestly, after the palinka sessions and the endless meetings discussing the endless meetings, do you really think they had a moment to spare responding to a good idea?
Don’t be silly, any spare time they had needed to be spent on working out the severance pay they would ask for.
@Turista:
Do you know anything about the half-finished golf course between Zalacsány and Kehida – it is almost completely overgrown with weeds now. What did go wrong there ?
@all: Anyone else knows something about this desaster ?
@Wolfi: Looks like a lot of the Irish-Hungarian investment was tied in with having the airport handy and you know how that has gone!
There was an update article a while back, but the best I can find now is: http://zalaihirlap.hu/fooldal-legfrissebb_hirek/20090429_golfpalya_takarekon
The good news is that they are claiming that work will begin anew in 2010!! Altogether will be 171 hectars of development, full 18 hole and hopefully the 19th, too. The developers are now saying that they will fund development from their own sources.
There’s a website detailing all the courses. This one is at: http://www.golfcourses.hu/cikk.php?id=211
Let’s hope it’s all true.
There was a huge amount of money earmarked for the development of the various resorts in-and-around Lake Balaton. Lake Velence also.
A consortium of Swedish, Irish, Spanish and British companies together with the Hungarian government were to oversee and finance the projects.
About a year and a half ago everything looked good and it was certain that work would commence on the developments.
As far as I can see things nose-dived and went from bad to worse because I cannot report any tangible evidence of any advancement on the planned developments.
I will try and find some of the info related to all this and post it later