Prague will continue its campaigns in support of tourism, which is affected by the effects of the covid-19 pandemic this year and is experiencing billions in losses. It also has a new concept of tourism, which is called Interests of Prague in the first place.

“This material (concept) was created for several months and at the beginning it was necessary to face the overturism that had plagued us for years. Now the streets are empty, but this state is not final and we hope that tourists will return and tourism will resume. And we want to be ready for that time, “said Prague councilor Hana Třeštíková (Prague to Herself).

The concept is to respect what the city needs and how to deal with tourism. Its motto is the name mentioned. “We want to express a change of perspective on the form of tourism, when more does not mean better. We emphasize the sustainable development of the city, respect for the cultural heritage and life of the city’s inhabitants, “said Třeštíková.

According to the members of the Board of Directors, Jana Adamcová, the city company Prague City Tourism has now prepared and developed 58 projects that are to help improve the form of tourism. The company wants to raise money from European funds to create an application that would allow them to manage the flow of tourists and send them information. “It would allow us to have dynamic tourism management that we don’t have now,” she said.

New routes are prepared that would take tourists out of the crowded center. “We do not want them to perceive Prague only as a castle, Charles bridge and astronomical clock,” said Třeštíková. A new Prague Visitor Pass will be created, which offered benefits, discounts and other benefits.

With entrepreneurs and their organizations, Prague City Tourism discusses the emergence of sustainable tourism brands that would become entrepreneurs. “It would be a mark that would become entrepreneurs in the capital. This mark would allow us to prioritize sustainable business in promoting the city. This would allow the city, for example, to support these sustainable operations, “said Adamcová.

The city management will continue the campaign In Prague as at Home, which attracted almost 70,000 tourists to the city over the summer. However, a coronavirus pandemic is awaiting further development. “The big issue will be Christmas and related markets and other events that attract. We will monitor how the situation develops and react accordingly. If we can make markets and more, it will be reflected in the form of the campaign, “said Třeštíková. This spring, the city donated 121 million crowns to support tourism.

Prague accounts for more than half of Czech GDP from tourism

Last year, 8.03 million tourists came to Prague. They spent 18.46 million nights here and the average length of stay is 2.29 nights. Prague generates 60.3 percent of the predominantly GDP of the Czech Republic in the field of tourism.

In the interest of tourists at the forefront of Europe

Prague is one of the most developed and most visited urban tourist destinations in Europe and in the world. In 2018, it was the seventh of 126 European cities in the number of overnight stays of visitors. In the second year, Prague even ranked 6th in Europe and 20th in the world. In the poll of travelers themselves, he finished in 7th place according to the Tripadvisor platform. International arrivals have grown by 6% in August over the last ten years, which is more than the European and global average. In 2018 and 2019, however, the growth rate of international arrivals to Prague slowed down significantly.

Vacationers spend six billion euros a season

The total income from acquired tourism in the Czech Republic in 2016 amounted to 5.7 million euros, however, the share of income in the number of acquired tourism is below the EU average. Prague is significantly dependent on foreign demand – foreign tourists spent 5.9 million euros here in 2016, which is 88% of the total tourist expenditure.

18.5 million Prague nights

In 2019, more than 8 million tourists came to Prague and spent almost 18.5 million nights there. However, the average number of overnight stays is only 2.29 nights. As the number of visitors to Prague grows in the long run, the average length of their stay is shortening: in 1996, the average length of stay in collective accommodation establishments was 3.7 days, by 2019 it had thus decreased by more than 1.4 days. However, Prague is not very and a completely common world trend in recent years is the shortening of stays at the expense of staying in more destinations, not only in urban tourism. In reality, not only many more people travel, but they travel to more places and more often (several times a year).

The highest tourist GDP in Europe

Prague generates more than 60% of GDP produced in tourism in the Czech Republic. This represents the highest share of the monitored European cities and shows the strongly dominant position of Prague’s tourism within the state. In Prague, tourism contributes 5% to the city’s GDP. Also with an 8% share of tourism in total employment, Prague is at the top of the European rankings – second only to Amsterdam. Employment is growing more slowly than GDP growth in Prague’s tourism, by 2026 it expects only 0.9% (larger than, for example, in Barcelona, ​​but lower than in other cities).

Extreme load on Prague

In terms of tourism density, Prague is significantly higher than other European cities with 257 arrivals per hectare. At the same time, in Prague, tourism is concentrated in a smaller smaller area than, for example, in Vienna, London, Berlin or Rome, and its burden on tourism is in fact much higher.