A new loan scheme will be added in September to the Hungarian “Szechenyi Card Program” to help businesses, which will only be available to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the tourism sector, the CEO of the Hungarian Tourism Agency (MTU) announced.

Zoltan Guller told the Hungarian state news agency MTI that with the help of the Szechenyi Touristic Card, businesses can get a free-use loan with zero interest.

The credit line of the new scheme will be 100 billion forints (289 million euros), and will be available to companies through commercial banks. The total sum each company can take out will be 250 million forints (723 thousand euros).

The Szechenyi Touristic Card is financed by the Hungarian National Bank through the Growth Loan Program (NHP).

According to Mr Guller, the Szechenyi Touristic Card is a long-awaited product, with a wide professional consensus behind it. Hungarian tourism and hospitality is a dynamically developing sector employing 400 thousand people, which accounted for 13 per cent of last year s GDP. However, it has recently been in deep trouble as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Mr Guller emphasized that the government had reacted quickly to the situation, helping the sector stay afloat with cuts in taxes and contributions.

He recalled that crisis management entered a new phase in May with the cautious and gradual restarting of the economy. As a result, domestic tourism intensified, with more Hungarians visiting inland destinations than in the same month last year, Mr Guller concluded.