A szállásadás bővülése Pécsett a világgazdasági válság évei után A mecsek Üdülőszálló története

Absztrakt

In my study, I present one of the most significant tourism investments of the 1930s in Pécs: the development of the Mecsek Resort Hotel. The Great Depression severely affected not only the economy of Hungary, but also Pécs. The recession caused a huge unemployment that led to serious issues in the society. To tackle the crisis, the city began to develop its transportation and utility infrastructure. Moreover, Pécs launched its conscious tourism development. The city council hoped that these interventions would help the town through the challenging times via the dynamically growing tourism. Alongside the city’s efforts there were numerous national campaigns as well, which led to a steady increase in Pécs’s number of visitors. The growth would have been unimaginable without the work of the Mecsek Association. The civil organisation has been working on the establishment of the active tourism’s infrastructure in the Mecsek Mountain since 1891. In the second half of the 1930s, one of the main directions of Pécs’s urban development was the Mecsek region. As part of the process, there was a growing demand for high-quality accommodation. Although the resort hotel (known as Hotel Kikelet) took shape slowly, it opened its doors by Christmas 1936. The hotel quickly became an integral part of the city. The fact that the Kikelet was fully booked on bank holidays quickly dispelled any doubts. The city council had big plans for the further development of the facility after its opening. Unfortunately, these ambitious expansions could not be realized due to the war and the nationalization that followed.