Prague is poor. Only a fraction of tourists arrived. The whole country will feel it
According to the Czech Tourism Union (ČUCR), tourism in Prague faces billions in losses, which continue to grow. Measures related to the coronavirus pandemic are not required. Without a quick and effective solution to the current situation, a dramatic impact on the entire Czech Republic and its economy can soon be expected, presented to the union and called on the Mayor of Prague, Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates). According to an earlier statement from the Association of Hotels and Restaurants of the Czech Republic, Prague accounts for 60 percent of tourism in the Czech Republic.
Before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2019, 8.4 million guests visited the capital, according to CUCR President Viliam Sivek. Of these, about 6.8 million were from abroad. “In the first half of this year, it was less than 1.9 million guests. There were just over 286,000 foreigners. It is clear that such a decline is driving down the whole of Czech tourism, “he said. CUCR also criticizes political parties that put tourism on the margins of their interests.
Tourism, which is in critical condition, is on the fringes of the interest of candidate political partieshttps://t.co/QLnS3KSq2A#elections @SpoluKoalice @CSSD @ TOP09cz @SPD_oficialni @CTK_cz @SeznamZpravy pic.twitter.com/Bm72OEfobO
– Czech Tourism Union (@FCR_CR)
September 27, 2021
According to Sivek, it is necessary to support tourism, which, unlike other European Union countries, has remained in the Czech Republic without direct state support. According to Jiřina Mašič from the Association of Travel Agencies, travel agencies focused on obtaining tourism reported an annual turnover of around six billion crowns, and their clients spent another six billion crowns in the Czech Republic on other tourist services. Now, according to her, they are practically “at zero” for the second year. Mašič assumes that this trend will continue until the spring of next year.
According to Miroslava Prokeš from the Association of Guides, more than a third of Czech guides have lost their jobs, and the number of foreign guides with an unskilled card is growing in Prague. According to Jana Mecnerová from the Association of Guides, qualified staff also receive the same card.
CUCR also criticizes the resolution of the Capital City Council to ban buses from entering the center of Prague. “The current change of entrances in Prague means, for example, that in congresses, instead of one minibus for 24 people meeting the EURO6 environmental standard, which will bring guests from the congress hall, there will be at least six taxi cars. That doesn’t make sense, “said Jiří Vlasák from the Tour Bus Initiative.
According to its vice-president Jaromír Polášek, the Union, together with other associations, is ready to improve the “ecosystems” of tourism in Prague, which is and always will be the gateway to the Czech Republic.
For example, tourism before the pandemic, according to Polášek, accounted for three percent of the Czech Republic’s gross domestic product and brings around 125 billion crowns to public budgets every year, and remains on the margins of interest of all political parties. “And that’s warning,” he added.