“Active and adventure tourism has become a European, even global trend: more and more people want to spend their leisure time actively, connecting with nature and perhaps going on adventure tours. And they want to do this in a responsible way. This trend has now arrived in Hungary as well. While we may not have natural attractions like the mountains of Austria or Slovenia, we do have natural values that we can package in exciting ways using new tourism tools,” explains Zoltán Szekér, one of the leaders at the Active and Ecotourism Development Center. 

As an example, he mentions the center’s “Active Adventurer” project, which offers complex active and ecotourism opportunities to its users, including domestic sights, hiking routes, rentable sports equipment, and bookable tourist houses. 

In the future, the Corvinus Tourism Development Manager/Economist program will place significant emphasis on teaching active tourism, which is why the specialized training has signed a cooperation agreement with Zoltán’s workplace. This way, students of the program will be able to collaborate on projects related to the creation and testing of new tourism products with the staff of the Active and Ecotourism Development Center. 

Zoltán completed his specialized training at Corvinus six years ago. Before that, he worked for many years in destination sports and tourism. He applied to Corvinus’s specialized program to support his practical experience with theoretical knowledge. 

“Due to my professional background in combat sports, I arrived at tourism from the sports field. I led a municipal sports institution for ten years and later founded a destination management organization. It was then that I truly experienced the powerful constructive force of tourism, both locally and at the destination level. That’s when I enrolled at Corvinus University,” recalls Zoltán, who initially tried to learn the basics of tourism in a self-taught manner. 

As his career progressed, he began taking on more complex, national-level tasks, and at this point, he felt it was time to pursue a comprehensive background in tourism through formal education. And what extra value did the Corvinus tourism program provide him? 

“I would highlight two things about the Corvinus Tourism Development Manager/Economist program: first, that it gave me a comprehensive and structured professional knowledge that covers all areas of tourism; and second, a lifelong, strong network of contacts that continues to support my career,” says Zoltán, adding that he feels the program’s completion has given him credibility within the industry. 

When asked who he would recommend applying to the university’s tourism program, Zoltán says that it is suitable for anyone who envisions a future in tourism, regardless of their prior background. Since classes were held on Friday afternoons and Saturdays, and the exam periods were planned in advance, Zoltán found that he was able to balance his studies well with his work at the time.