‘MasterCard regularly conducts research to track payment habits and attitudes of Hungarian cardholders, yet this is the first survey focusing on people who tend to travel on ski holidays’ – said Milán Gauder, regional director at MasterCard Europe. ‘Credit cards are becoming an essential part of cross border travel as confirmed by statistic of The National Bank of Hungary: the number of cross border bankcard transactions has increased by 30% in one year.’

The survey shows that skiers pick up information from a wide variety of sources when planning the trip. Internet sites, holiday catalogues, travel agencies and friends’ opinion play an equal role in decision making. Websites sielok.hu, sionline.hu, siujsag.hu and gulliver.hu appear to be attracting most skiers when looking for information.

Once the desired destination have been chosen most people (45%) pay deposits or booking fees through the internet using predominantly payment cards – according to MasterCard research - while local travel agencies remain to play a major role in the booking procedure. Every fourth trip is ordered through a travel agent.

MasterCard’s survey shows that approximately 64% of skiers actively use their cards during their trip in various payment situations. Hungarian cardholders are becoming increasingly confident at using this quick, convenient and secure payment method at not only gas station, but also in hotels, food stores, restaurants and bars at the ski resorts. 16% of respondents said that they prefer paying by bankcards wherever it is possible.

Milán Gauder added: ‘Even though this is where cards would come especially handy our research indicates that Hungarian skiers seldom use their cards near the ski pistes e.g. for buying ski passes, food and beverage or paying for ski lessons.

There is nothing more frustrating than having to fumble for coins and crumpled bills in a bulky ski outfit. People leaving their hotels for a ride equipped with a MasterCard card will be surprised to find that more and more merchants and service providers accept the card on the snowy hillsides.”

For more information: Zoltán Zádori