Scientifically certified medical treatment and health promotion are important tourist products in the Hungarian Northern Great Plain. The region has a veritable abundance of thermal and medicinal waters. There are 209 springs with a water temperature of over 30°C, around 50 bathing areas, thermal and medical spa resorts, swimming pools, water parks, leisure and wellness baths and numerous medicinal hotels.
A project financed by Switzerland will allow a DMO to be set up that will create a sustainable bridge between tourist services and scientifically certified health promotion. The task of the organisation is to build up a regional medicinal tourism brand and coordinate all the measures associated with the further development and promotion of the brand. The Mátra Therapeutic Institute and the Medicine and Health Institute of Debrecen University will serve as the scientific basis for the project.
In a second project financed by Switzerland, the unique natural landscape of Northern Hungary along the river Tisza and the towns and villages of the region, home to crafts such as basket weaving and the cultivation of river meadows, should be made more attractive for international tourists. The goal of the project is to strengthen appreciation of the landscape and the cultural assets of the region. A DMO will be set up which will establish a register containing all the offers and activities available to tourists in each of the six landscape centres along the Tisza. In addition, a well-illustrated English/German/Hungarian pictorial dictionary will provide an overview of the special features characterising the landscape and the cultural assets of the region. It is also intended to create partnerships with Swiss tourist organisations.
Use of the DMO approach will promote the competitiveness and quality of the tourist sector. In addition, the region's tourist value will be enhanced and, thanks to the creation of new jobs, additional income will be generated for the inhabitants of this economic development area.