During a conference organised by the American Chamber of Commerce to discuss the economic importance of holding the Olympics in Hungary, Péter Szijjárto, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, explained that if the Games were to be held in Budapest it would mean the entire Central European region would benefit.
Not only would the globally recognised event create more than one-hundred thousand new jobs, generate 3.7 billion euros in revenues for the country but also contribute 0.3 percent to economic growth and could lead to an increase in tourism.
According to Minister Szijjártó, he believes holding the Olympics in Hungary, within central Europe, a new location and region for the Games, would represent a significant added value for the international Olympic movement. In light of this, the Hungarian Government is providing its full support and backing to Hungary’s 2024 Olympic bid, he highlighted.
Meanwhile, István Tarlós, Mayor of Budapest, said: “An increasingly large proportion of the capital’s inhabitants and more and more organisations and decision-makers are standing behind the bid.” According to the Mayor, the Olympics could be one of the major factors to ensuring the long-term development of both Budapest and Hungary.
As an incentive to encourage the Hungarian population to throw their support behind the Games, plans are afoot to enable 90 percent of Hungarians to travel to at least one Olympic competition within 90 minutes of their place of residence.