After the red letter Sunday 15 March, this will be the first Sunday when the majority of the shops will be closed around Lake Balaton. The law states that:
- shops larger than 200m2 must be closed on Sundays
- shops smaller than 200m2 can stay open on Sundays, if it's only the owner and their family running it
- In addition to the Sunday restrictions, shops can only be open between 6 AM and 10 PM on weekdays - outside this time frame, only the owner and their family members can work in the shops.
According to the tourism officials we asked in Balatonfüred, Balatonalmád and Keszthely, tourists arriving to Lake Balaton will only sense the Sunday closing of larger chains for now, since the majority of smaller shops around teh Lake only open in mid-Spring. All of them emphasised that there is still uncertainty surrounding the Sunday opening hours of Balaton shops.
It is already apparent, though, that if the Law is not amended in the future, small Balaton shops can count on serious losses in the summer season. Many are in danger of closing down or laying off employees.
Guests spending their weekends by the lake won't be able to get their Sunday rolls as simply as they used to. The site sonline.hu reported about the Siófok trade forum of Balaton's retailers, where a small shop owner pinpointed the problem with his question: "Are we rolling out the Nyitott Balaton [Open Balaton] event series with shops closed on Sundays?"
Sunday isn't a fun day
The shops of major food chains must be closed on Sundays around Lake Balaton as well. In the case of shops smaller than 200m2, the problem is whether owner sor family members could make time for standing behind the counter. Presumably, many shops will stay open in spite of the restrictions, but it is yet unclear how many and how.
The Law in its current form is criticised harshly not only by shop owners, but also by mayors of many settlements around Balaton. The mayor of Zamárdi and the association of local retailers told sonline.hu that they are lobbying for special treatment for shops around the Lake, and the permission for all shops smaller than 200m2 to stay open on the busiest day of tourism irrespective of who's working in the shop.
Zamárdi is somewhat privileged already, since the small shops of the city can stay open on Sundays of the major festivals, Balaton Sound and Strand Festival, since the Law doesn't apply to retailers on the area of musical and cultural events. It is, however, unclear what the festival's area covers, in case, for example, of the Valley of Arts, where there are concerts and shows simultaneously at various venues in several settlements. The idea also popped up whether the small shops could work they way around the legislation by way of whole summer long local musical and cultural festivals.
Everyone to the markets!
What's bad news for shops could benefit markets. It is possible that even markets that used be closed on Sundays would open on the last day of the week this summer.
Last year, the following markets operated on Sunday as well:
- Balatonfüred's Biobalaton,
- Káptalantóti's Liliomkert Market
- Szántódpuszta farmgate and flea market
- Gyenesdiás' Balaton Fish and Farmer's Market
- Balatonboglár's Daily Food Market
- Balatonföldvár's Farmer's Market
Demanding special rules for Balaton
If there won't be a custom set of rules for Lake Balaton, at least for the summer high season, holidayers will surely run into surprises. In minor settlements that have only had a couple of small shops might be left without them for Sundays. This might mean that there won't be fresh pastries on the table on Sundays, and one won't be able to get anything they forget to buy on Saturday. True, restaurants and buffets will still be open, but you won't be able to get a box of milk, for instance.
