During the second quarter of this year, a total of 6 million guests came to domestic hotels, guesthouses and other mass accommodation facilities. A total of 54% (3.2 million) were domestic tourists, while 46% (2.8 million) were visitors from abroad. Domestic visitors from neighbouring countries (Germany - 631,000, Poland - 253,000 and Slovakia - 247,000) most often chose Czechia as their holiday destination during April-June 2024. Tourists from the USA (161 thousand) and Great Britain (121 thousand) also arrived in larger numbers. The number of foreign visitors who stayed in one of the mass accommodation establishments increased by 9.3% year-on-year, while the number of domestic guests decreased by 1.4%. The number of overnight stays also increased year-on-year (by 0.9%) to a total of 13.9 million nights. The Ice Hockey World Championship in May was reflected in visitor arrivals especially in the Moravian-Silesian Region and Prague.
The number of visitors from distant markets is growing. There was a significant increase in tourists from the USA (161 thousand., Year-on-year +12%), South Korea (68,319, +6% year-on-year), Taiwan (47,174, +49% year-on-year), Israel (47,990, +44% year-on-year) and Turkey (31,632, +33% year-on-year). In general, foreigners most often go to Prague, South Moravia and Karlovy Vary regions. The highest percentage year-on-year increase in the number of visitors was monitored for tourists from China, by 125.7%.
"In Q2 2024, the total number of tourists increased by 3.3% year-on-year, and even by more than 9 % for foreign tourists, which is basically a positive development. Overall, the data confirms that tourism in Czechia has returned to its pre-crisis level. The fact that tourists from distant destinations are discovering the country is also a plus. This is reflected in the high number of travellers from the USA, but also in the year-on-year increase in the number of tourists from Korea, Taiwan and the PRC. Direct flights from these destinations are a major contributor to this. And we are of course looking to launch more. Last but not least, tourism is greatly influenced by giant events such as the Ice Hockey World Championship, which attracted sports fans from all over the world to Czechia. This event is not only about sport, but also has a significant economic impact both during the championship itself and after it has ended. The experience of previous years, when Czechia was the host country, was confirmed. It is a unique opportunity to present the country, which also helps to increase the interest in our country and the number of tourists who decide to get to know it. And this applies not only to the cities where it takes place, but also to other regions," says Director of the Czech Tourist Authority – CzechTourism František Reismüller.
In the second quarter of 2024, the highest number of tourists staying in all types of accommodation facilities was in Prague, with 2.1 million tourists. This was followed by the South Moravian Region with around 589,000 guests and the South Bohemia Region, where a total of 454,000 travellers stayed overnight. Tourists stay the longest in the Karlovy Vary Region. The time they spend in this region (on average 4.66 days) exceeds the national average, which currently stands at 3.34 days.
Looking purely at hotels, a total of 4.3 million guests visited them in Czechia during April-June 2024. Of these, 44% were residents (1.9 million) and 56% were foreigners (2.4 million). The largest number of foreign visitors who chose this type of accommodation during the second quarter came from Germany (527,359, -1.63% yoy), Poland (205,151, +19.3% yoy), Slovakia (197,622, +4.87% yoy), USA (150,821, +13.14% yoy), UK (109,290, +5.6% yoy) and Italy (88,460, +10.95% yoy).
Hockey championship as a magnet for fans from all over the world
Data for Q2 confirmed that the Ice Hockey World Championships attracted sports fans from all over the world to Czechia. In addition to the championship, Prague hosted a number of other major events, with 16.2% more foreigners arriving in May year-on-year, with the highest number coming from Switzerland (up 134%), Finland (up 128%) and Canada (up 13%). Finns spent an average of 4.2 nights in Prague, Canadians 3.8 nights and Swiss 3.6 nights. Foreign guests also spent more in the capital in May. Their spending increased by a fifth year-on-year and by a quarter month-on-month.
"In Moravian-Silesian Region, 65% more foreign tourists stayed in May year-on-year. Of the participating countries, the highest year-on-year increases were recorded in the month by guests from Sweden (up 401%), Latvia (up 311%) and Kazakhstan (up 120%), while higher numbers of tourists also arrived from France and Slovakia. Travellers from Canada (5.7), Sweden (5.3), France (4.9) and the USA (4.8) spent the most nights on average in the Moravian-Silesian region. Spending by foreigners in the region increased by 88% year-on-year and 85% month-on-month," calculates head of the Institute of Tourism of the Czech Tourist Authority – CzechTourism Petr Janeček.
Further details on the latest data are available on the website.
Last-Minute Trends: Guests are booking at the last minute
"As for this summer season, exact data will be available during the fall.Currently, we can say that according to information from the regions, the situation is similar or better than it was at the same time last year. There are some places that have lower numbers of guests at the moment, but this may also be due to more and more people booking their stays at the last minute or even a week before arrival. Whereas before, rooms were booked up to six months in advance. And this applies not only to hotels or guesthouses, but also to campsites. Another reason for the lower occupancy rate may be the fact that at the beginning of the season many people went on holiday to the sea and in August and September they spend their holidays in the country. To put it simply – at the moment it is too early to make any assessment of this summer season. The situation is still evolving and may differ from region to region," warns František Reismüller.
According to him, a number of factors influence the number of visitors not only in the summer season, including the weather, the financial situation of tourists, their preferences in terms of the form and location of their holidays and, of course, the offer of individual accommodation operators. Even with the very warm weather, which is a plus for businesses that can offer an interesting programme by the water.
"We are seeing a recurring trend among hoteliers that guests are booking their stays at the last minute, making it difficult to predict occupancy for future periods. From the available data for the summer season so far, it can be stated that the attendance is at least the same as last year, in some places, or in some dates, it is even higher. The prices of accommodation and services in Czech mountain resorts have remained unchanged compared to last year in vast majority of places. If there was an increase in prices, it was minimal year-on-year. Despite this, their operators are still improving services such as cable car transport, cable parks and other attractions, bicycle rentals, etc. and tourists are interested in them. Overall, the resorts have invested tens of millions of crowns in this year's summer innovations," adds Director of the Association of Mountain Resorts of the Czech Republic Libor Knot.
CzechTourism: Czechia as a top destination with balanced tourism
CzechTourism continues to promote Czechia as a destination with a lot to offer and worth visiting. And it provides regular tips on places of interest through its Kudy z nudy tourism portal. And for foreign visitors, through the VisitCzechia.com website.
I one of the priorities of CzechTourism is to motivate tourists who come to us not to go only to places that are well-known and therefore widely visited. The aim is to spread tourism evenly across Czechia. To ensure the satisfaction of visitors and at the same time to enable, among other things, the smooth flow of traffic, to protect cultural and natural wealth and to prevent possible conflicts. In other words – to ensure that Czechia is still a place that offers a 100% guarantee of great and unusual experiences and at the same time to prevent high congestion in certain places from discouraging travellers from visiting our country. The aim is to evenly distribute visitor numbers and bring the benefits of tourism to lesser known areas and to manage the dispersion of people across Czechia in a coordinated way. To make the offerings of the regions more visible but also to map the congested places and try to offer tourist-ready alternatives. In recent months, CzechTourism has been behind the creation of several projects, such as Tourism Without Tracks (E.On.) or the mobile application EPU. These projects aim to educate tourists themselves.
"In Q2 2024, the total number of tourists increased by 3.3% year-on-year, and even by more than 9 % for foreign tourists, which is basically a positive development. Overall, the data confirms that tourism in Czechia has returned to its pre-crisis level. The fact that tourists from distant destinations are discovering the country is also a plus. This is reflected in the high number of travellers from the USA, but also in the year-on-year increase in the number of tourists from Korea, Taiwan and the PRC. Direct flights from these destinations are a major contributor to this. And we are of course looking to launch more. Last but not least, tourism is greatly influenced by giant events such as the Ice Hockey World Championship, which attracted sports fans from all over the world to Czechia. This event is not only about sport, but also has a significant economic impact both during the championship itself and after it has ended. The experience of previous years, when Czechia was the host country, was confirmed. It is a unique opportunity to present the country, which also helps to increase the interest in our country and the number of tourists who decide to get to know it. And this applies not only to the cities where it takes place, but also to other regions," says Director of the Czech Tourist Authority – CzechTourism František Reismüller.
In the second quarter of 2024, the highest number of tourists staying in all types of accommodation facilities was in Prague, with 2.1 million tourists. This was followed by the South Moravian Region with around 589,000 guests and the South Bohemia Region, where a total of 454,000 travellers stayed overnight. Tourists stay the longest in the Karlovy Vary Region. The time they spend in this region (on average 4.66 days) exceeds the national average, which currently stands at 3.34 days.
Looking purely at hotels, a total of 4.3 million guests visited them in Czechia during April-June 2024. Of these, 44% were residents (1.9 million) and 56% were foreigners (2.4 million). The largest number of foreign visitors who chose this type of accommodation during the second quarter came from Germany (527,359, -1.63% yoy), Poland (205,151, +19.3% yoy), Slovakia (197,622, +4.87% yoy), USA (150,821, +13.14% yoy), UK (109,290, +5.6% yoy) and Italy (88,460, +10.95% yoy).
Hockey championship as a magnet for fans from all over the world
Data for Q2 confirmed that the Ice Hockey World Championships attracted sports fans from all over the world to Czechia. In addition to the championship, Prague hosted a number of other major events, with 16.2% more foreigners arriving in May year-on-year, with the highest number coming from Switzerland (up 134%), Finland (up 128%) and Canada (up 13%). Finns spent an average of 4.2 nights in Prague, Canadians 3.8 nights and Swiss 3.6 nights. Foreign guests also spent more in the capital in May. Their spending increased by a fifth year-on-year and by a quarter month-on-month.
"In Moravian-Silesian Region, 65% more foreign tourists stayed in May year-on-year. Of the participating countries, the highest year-on-year increases were recorded in the month by guests from Sweden (up 401%), Latvia (up 311%) and Kazakhstan (up 120%), while higher numbers of tourists also arrived from France and Slovakia. Travellers from Canada (5.7), Sweden (5.3), France (4.9) and the USA (4.8) spent the most nights on average in the Moravian-Silesian region. Spending by foreigners in the region increased by 88% year-on-year and 85% month-on-month," calculates head of the Institute of Tourism of the Czech Tourist Authority – CzechTourism Petr Janeček.
Further details on the latest data are available on the website.
Last-Minute Trends: Guests are booking at the last minute
"As for this summer season, exact data will be available during the fall.Currently, we can say that according to information from the regions, the situation is similar or better than it was at the same time last year. There are some places that have lower numbers of guests at the moment, but this may also be due to more and more people booking their stays at the last minute or even a week before arrival. Whereas before, rooms were booked up to six months in advance. And this applies not only to hotels or guesthouses, but also to campsites. Another reason for the lower occupancy rate may be the fact that at the beginning of the season many people went on holiday to the sea and in August and September they spend their holidays in the country. To put it simply – at the moment it is too early to make any assessment of this summer season. The situation is still evolving and may differ from region to region," warns František Reismüller.
According to him, a number of factors influence the number of visitors not only in the summer season, including the weather, the financial situation of tourists, their preferences in terms of the form and location of their holidays and, of course, the offer of individual accommodation operators. Even with the very warm weather, which is a plus for businesses that can offer an interesting programme by the water.
"We are seeing a recurring trend among hoteliers that guests are booking their stays at the last minute, making it difficult to predict occupancy for future periods. From the available data for the summer season so far, it can be stated that the attendance is at least the same as last year, in some places, or in some dates, it is even higher. The prices of accommodation and services in Czech mountain resorts have remained unchanged compared to last year in vast majority of places. If there was an increase in prices, it was minimal year-on-year. Despite this, their operators are still improving services such as cable car transport, cable parks and other attractions, bicycle rentals, etc. and tourists are interested in them. Overall, the resorts have invested tens of millions of crowns in this year's summer innovations," adds Director of the Association of Mountain Resorts of the Czech Republic Libor Knot.
CzechTourism: Czechia as a top destination with balanced tourism
CzechTourism continues to promote Czechia as a destination with a lot to offer and worth visiting. And it provides regular tips on places of interest through its Kudy z nudy tourism portal. And for foreign visitors, through the VisitCzechia.com website.
I one of the priorities of CzechTourism is to motivate tourists who come to us not to go only to places that are well-known and therefore widely visited. The aim is to spread tourism evenly across Czechia. To ensure the satisfaction of visitors and at the same time to enable, among other things, the smooth flow of traffic, to protect cultural and natural wealth and to prevent possible conflicts. In other words – to ensure that Czechia is still a place that offers a 100% guarantee of great and unusual experiences and at the same time to prevent high congestion in certain places from discouraging travellers from visiting our country. The aim is to evenly distribute visitor numbers and bring the benefits of tourism to lesser known areas and to manage the dispersion of people across Czechia in a coordinated way. To make the offerings of the regions more visible but also to map the congested places and try to offer tourist-ready alternatives. In recent months, CzechTourism has been behind the creation of several projects, such as Tourism Without Tracks (E.On.) or the mobile application EPU. These projects aim to educate tourists themselves.
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