General economic survey

The structural transformation of the economy took place in the County. In the last 10 years the labour market became consolidated because of foreign investments and productions to export, unemployment decreased radically, the proportion of the tertiary sectors increased with the widening of commercial, service and touristic activities resulting from the adjacency to the border and because of the large-scale export and import, after the significant decreasing of the production in the early years.

The economic activity among the 9 examined micro-regions still indicates significant differences. Compared to the dynamically developing micro-regions the 3-4 „developing” ones in the eastern and southern part of the County strive to increase the producing sectors, and create its conditions not only in the industry, but the agricultural producing and processing branches.

Industry
The pushing power of the County’s economy is the industry. Today Vas County is one of the „most industrialised” counties in Hungary: it’s at the top of the national list considering the rate of the industry within the GDP, the industrial contributed value calculated on one person, the number of the employees in the industry calculated on thousand inhabitants and it’s in the third place considering the sales and investments.

Agriculture and Forestry
The importance of the agriculture decreases in the economy of the county, the performance rates are moderate as well. Its contribution to the County GDP is 8 percent which exceeds the national average but it’s under the provincial average, although the emission on one citizen reaches nearly the level of this average. The importance of the agriculture however is essentially bigger: on the one hand the vast majority of the families is connected to the sector in some way even today, as in certain villages it is the only mean of working; its effect on the related sectors (food industry, tourism) is evident. On the other hand, the agriculture and forestry have determining importance in the maintenance of the land use.

Today especially the forestry can be regarded as power in Vas County, the high degree of forestation connected with climatic and soil conditions significantly surpasses the national average.

Commerce, service sector
Although the dates of West-Transdanubea regarding the incomes and consumption expenses are the highest after the capital nationally, the shopping tourism improves this demand as well, the rates of the commerce still aren’t higher in the county in national comparison. The importance of the sector in the economy is much below the provincial average, and the rate of the GDP produced in the county calculated on the number of the population doesn’t reach the provincial date much fallen behind the national average. The number of the retail stores related to the citizenship is below the provincial average as well, only the rates of the food and the clothes shops are better. Sharp tendency of the last years is the settlement of the multinational commercial networks, which process on one side makes impossible the territorial comparison of the turnover, on the other side improves the local supply.

To the aggregated rates of the catering and accommodation service sector surpassing slightly the national average the two sectors contribute in a different measure: the latter raises the rate above the average with its nationally high performance essentially (thanks to the medicinal tourism first of all), because the number of the people specialised on hospitality in the county is below the average significantly. The significant concentration of the catering places like activities linking strongly to the tourism reflects the inside proportions of the tourism in the county (two-thirds of the restaurants can be found in the six settlements managed the largest guest turnover). The effects of the seat with medium rates on this field – similar to the catering places - are strongly reflected in the quantitative features of the county, as it is lagging behind the country.

The service sector, and especially the sphere of the business services, is one of the weak points of the economy of Vas County considering the number of the organisations and the added value developing in the sector, according to the statistic dates. The demand for these - motivating their presence – can be perceived, but to a lesser than desirable degree.

Recreation, tourism
The county is supremely rich in castles, country-houses, a part of these is under protection of historic buildings, more and more are reconstructed to accommoditions poviding a large number of sevices which are attractive for foreign richer guests as well. A particular ’szeres’ settlement structure rooted in the past of the villages in Őrség is unique, which is one of the main sights of Őrség. The historical seeds of cities Kőszeg, Szombathely, Sárvár attract a lot of visitors as well.

Unique riches of thermal waters extend under the surface on the territory of the county because of deep structural and geometrical fundamentals of county Vas. The thermal and mineral waters opened up by borings made it possible to build watering-places in more settlements, and by today the thermal and medicinal baths fulfil a stressed role in the series of touristical attractions of the county, the baths of Bük and Sárvár have national importance, and they are among the primary targets of the medical tourism directed from abroad to our country. In the county Bük, Sárvár, Szombathely, Borgáta, Mesteri and Vasvár have got medical or thermal bath. The baths of Bük and Sárvár were declared medical bath and the water of the bath in Szombathely has medical water qualification as well. Bükfürdő, the medical bath complex built next to the settlement Bük is one of the most important medical tourist centre of the country. Considering its visitors’ circle the rate of arriving from abroad here is the highest.

Reserve in thermal waters
One of the natural riches of Hungary is the thermal water, which favourable mining opportunity has in county Vas as well. Presently 15 operating, utilized thermal wells are in the county. One thermal well operates in Borgáta, 3 in Bük, 2 in Mesteri, 3 in Sárvár, 1 in Sárvár-Rábasömjén, 3 in Szombathely, 1 in Vasvár and 1 in Szentgotthárd, all of the wells are used for bath except the one in Rábasömjén. In Rábasömjén it’s utilized for extracting salt. In Bük and Vasvár the wells are used for heating besides bathing.

Among the wells operating presently eight wells were sinked in interest of extracting thermal water (2 in Bük, 1 in Mesteri, 2 in Sárvár, 2 in Szombathely, and 1 in Szentgotthárd), one were sinked for extracting salt (Sárvár-Rábasömjén) and two as geological research sinking (Sárvár and Vasvár). The other wells were mined during oil research sinking.