The most affected is now the center of Prague, where so far a full 95 percent of tourists were foreigners. How to help the association Centrum lives, because their absence threatens the collapse of many companies here. According to the association’s estimates, 60 percent of people working in the hotel industry and 40 percent of workers employed in trade and tourism services could lose their jobs here.

“It’s far from just hotel, restaurant or retail operators beaten by a huge drop in sales. In addition, all these operators have their own employees and suppliers. If we go further, we have suppliers of suppliers, service providers and other related professions. Despite this ‘tree’, the negative economic impact will spread to the entire economy and outside the capital city of Prague, “said David Mazáček, director of the Institute of Strategic Investment at the Faculty of Finance and Accounting of the University of Economics in Prague and a member of the committee.

He is now another economic and legal expert consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield, Grant Thornton and Havel & Partners working on analysis and suggestions on how to effectively run hotels and restaurants with state and city assistance.

Tourism employs over 240,000 people nationwide. Almost one third of them, specifically 74,000 people, work in Prague, others are in the supply chain. According to analyzes by the Ministry of Regional Development, a third of jobs in tourism are at risk, but in Prague it is almost half of all jobs in this sector.

In addition to Prague, Karlovy Vary and Český Krumlov are among the regions most affected by the loss of foreign tourism. However, Prague is by far the worst, with the number of guests falling by more than 70 percent. Nevertheless, tourists spend tens of billions of crowns in Prague every year, a substantial part of which is in the city center.

The decrease of tourists can be observed in many exposed places in Prague. At Prague Airport in June, the number of transactions always reached 15 percent compared to the same period last year.

“We estimate that more than 65 percent of foreign tourists use air transport on their way to Prague,” recalls David Mazáček.

Losses are also reported by urban transport. In May, the Prague metro carried less than half of the passengers compared to the situation a year ago, and the decline in tourists also largely contributed to this drastic decline.

Based on estimates and analytical data, the Centrum Centrum association assumes that if the second wave of coronavirus does not occur, a more fundamental return of tourists will not occur until next summer. According to their assumptions, the entire segment could return to its original state from 2019 at the turn of 2023–2024.

According to the association, it is necessary to support the operator in the meantime, otherwise the center of Prague threatens significant economic problems, the impact of which negatively affects the economy of the whole country.