The capital of the Czech Republic provides good value for tourists’ money. The Swedes think so. Prague was thus awarded an imaginary gold medal in the traditional Destination of the Year survey.

We consider the domestic metropolis as a Weekend Destination 2023 in the category Destinations with good value for money. The results were announced at the largest Scandinavian B2B trade fair Travel News Market. At the end of last year, it took place in Stockholm, Sweden.

The Destination of the Year project maps trends in tourism, travel moods and also the behavior of Swedes when travelling. The largest Swedish B2B media, Travel News and Nordic Bench collaborated on the 2023 edition.

“We are very happy about the Swedish award of Prague as the Weekend Destination of 2023. And I believe that this will also help with the return of foreign tourists to the Czech Republic. Last November, it was true that tourism was still driven by residents, with approx. 170,000 foreign tourists missing (HERE). In order to improve, the restart of tourism must also be supported financially, as they do elsewhere in the world,” says Jan Herget, director of the Czech Tourism Center – CzechTourism, adding: “During the covid years, the number of tourists from Sweden has decreased compared to 2019 to by 80%, but the regional dispersion has increased significantly. From January to November 2022, we recorded more than 72,000 arrivals from Sweden to the Czech Republic. It meant a year-on-year increase of 318%, but we still haven’t returned to the pre-pandemic numbers.”

“We are happy that, thanks to the gradual cultivation and change of the image of the city, which we are using and working on, Prague is getting to the top in terms of popularity among travelers, and that it is no different for tourists from Sweden,” says František Cipro, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Prague City Tourism .

Apart from Prague (HERE) last year the Swedes were most interested in South Moravian (HERE), Ústí (HERE) and the Central Bohemian Region (HERE). “Our Prague has long been one of the most popular weekend destinations in Sweden. Last year, we therefore prepared activities to not only rebuild the capital as an attractive destination. One of the key communication topics was gastronomy,” says Lucie Vallin, director of CzechTourism’s foreign representation for Scandinavia and Finland, who received the Weekend Destination of the Year 2023 award for Prague. Lucie Vallin adds: “This year we want to build on, for example, the image of the “Fly and Drive” campaigns. The main goal will be the sale of price plans and the promotion of the Czech Republic as a safe destination with excellent accessibility.”

The Scandinavian Travel News Market, where the Czechia received the above award, was held on November 10, 2022 in Stockholm. More than 120 exhibitors from different countries of the world presented themselves at the fair and more than 1,000 business professionals from all over Scandinavia visited it. This year, in addition to the previously mentioned campaign, CzechTourism is preparing a number of events and activities for the local market. From participation in Ferie for Alle or Golfmessut fairs to MICE fam trips, special gastronomic events or an online campaign focused on self-drive holidays or sustainable tourism including train travel.

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