Orbán’s daughter organized influencer trip that cost Hungarian taxpayers €8 million

A Budapest publicity trip for international influencers cost Hungarian taxpayers about €8 million, according to documents obtained through freedom-of-information requests.

The Hungary Tourism Agency organized the program in May 2024. Guests included YouTuber David Dobrik, British boxer and reality-TV personality Tommy Fury, and influencers Olivia Palermo and Hannah Stocking. Hungarian media outlets 444.hu and Telex also examined the event.

The program was initially said to have cost about €4 million, including expenses linked to the celebrity guests. Later information indicated that the final amount was approximately twice as high. The project was led by Ráhel Orbán, daughter of then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who proposed bringing influencers with large followings to Budapest and giving them a specially designed program to present the capital as a luxury destination.

The tourism agency announced the “Budapest Influencer Trip” in April 2024. Its director, László Könnyid, said about 50 foreign bloggers and vloggers from more than 10 international markets, along with around 100 Hungarian creators, would take part. The foreign influencers stayed in Budapest from May 22 to 24.

Their itinerary included a brunch at the luxury Párizsi Udvar hotel and a party at Fisherman’s Bastion featuring DJs Guy Gerber and The Martinez Brothers. The full guest list was not made public, so participants were identified mainly through their social-media posts. Influencer Kefaya Abudaye thanked Ráhel Orbán in a video, saying, “Ráhel, we love you, truly, and thank you for everything. You are wonderful; we are enjoying every moment here. I swear, we really are.”

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Ráhel, we love you, truly, and thank you for everything. You are wonderful; we are enjoying every moment here. I swear, we really are.