EXAMINATION OF HOLIDAY HABITS IN HUNGARY, WITH SPECIAL REGARD TO RURAL TOURISM

The paper aims to examine the demand for rural tourism, targeting the design of offers following the period of the pandemic. The topic of the present study, is the examination of the holiday habits of the Hungarian population focusing on rural tourism. Following the theoretical background regarding rural tourism, rural tourism destination and tourism motivation, the primary research investigates the holiday habits of various age groups and the differences between these, the frequency of traveling and planned overstays, and the optional programs as recreational and gastronomic activities, their willingness to spend for the offers that form an integral part of the rural tourism. The survey method was chosen and the respondents were assigned via a random sample. The collected data was processed via IBM SPSS 25 program, in which unary and binary operations, correlation analysis was done. The study highlights that there is a high demand for rural tourism in the countryside in the post-pandemic period, is a general need for recreation irrespective of age, educational background, or residence. The respondents would participate in a genuine rural program irrespective of age, educational background, or residence. It was also proven that there is a significant difference between the travelling frequency of the various groups, according to which, the middle-aged respondents travel most frequently to the countryside, followed by the seniors and the youth.