One Day, Two Perspectives on Tourism
This year's CzechTourism Forum brings together two previously separate professional events – the Tourism Forum and the Czech Convention Bureau Inspirational Afternoon.
The morning programme will focus on leisure tourism and is designed primarily for destination management organisations, tourism professionals, and businesses. The afternoon session will turn its attention to the meetings industry, covering congress, conference, and corporate travel (MICE). The entire programme will be held in English.
"Tourism is evolving faster than ever before. Along with it, visitors' expectations, technologies and the ways destinations engage with their guests are changing as well. To maintain Czechia's strong position on the international market, we need to keep pace with emerging trends, learn from the best and share knowledge across the industry. CzechTourism Forum provides a platform where destination representatives, tourism businesses and experts from Czechia and abroad come together to exchange ideas and identify solutions that will help shape the future of tourism. This year, for the first time, we are bringing leisure tourism and business events together within a single programme, as the two sectors are becoming increasingly interconnected and have much to learn from each other," says František Reismüller, Director of the Czech Tourist Authority – CzechTourism.
Leading experts from across Europe to gather in Prague
The conference will bring together renowned experts in tourism, economics, data analytics, marketing, and the organisation of congresses and other professional events. It will focus on the latest trends, international best practices and practical solutions that help destinations manage tourism more effectively.
Among the featured speakers will be Steen Jakobsen, CEO of GainingEdge and former Director of the convention bureaux in Copenhagen and Dubai; Chloe Parkins, Lead Economist in the Tourism Economics team at Oxford Economics; Ciara Gallagher, Manager of the Business Events team at Ireland's National Tourism Development Authority, Fáilte Ireland; and Martin Boisen, internationally recognised expert in place marketing, place branding and place management, and Vice-Chair of the International Place Branding Association.
The keynote address will be delivered by Matt Garman, an internationally acclaimed speaker who combines his experience of building successful businesses with extraordinary personal achievements, including swimming the English Channel, offering a unique perspective on leadership, resilience and unlocking team potential.
The programme will also feature Marco Pizzio, Head of Accessible Tourism & MICE at the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Society (AISM) and Member of the Board of Directors of the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), and Magdalena Janečková, Director of Mastercard Czech Republic and Slovakia, whose work focuses on technology, innovation and data-driven solutions, together with other speakers from Czechia and abroad.
"We have designed the programme to provide participants with the latest insights from across Europe and beyond—from destination marketing, data-driven decision-making and impact measurement to concrete examples of best practice from international markets and innovative approaches to organising events. We want to go beyond discussing general trends and present solutions that have already proven successful elsewhere and can also benefit Czech regions, cities and tourism businesses. By bringing these two established conferences together, we are creating even greater opportunities for knowledge sharing, networking and inspiration across the entire tourism sector," says Tereza Hofmanová, Director of the Product Management, Research and B2B Cooperation Department at CzechTourism.
The need to share knowledge is growing alongside increasing international interest in Czechia. According to an Amadeus analysis prepared for UN Tourism, flight bookings to Czechia increased by 18% year-on-year between May 2025 and April 2026, making Czechia one of Europe's fastest-growing tourism destinations.
Business Events Tourism Strengthens Czechia's Position
The afternoon programme will build on the successful Czech Convention Bureau Inspirational Afternoon, a professional platform for experts in the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) sector. Each year, it showcases the latest trends, shares examples of best practice and addresses the key issues shaping the future of the business events industry in Czechia and abroad.
This is no coincidence. Business events tourism is one of the fastest-growing and most economically valuable segments of the tourism industry. It attracts visitors outside the main tourist season, supports regional economies and makes a significant contribution to local development. Conference delegates typically stay longer, make greater use of local services, spend more during their visit and often return later as leisure travellers.
Its importance for Czechia is also reflected in the latest ICCA Country & City Rankings. With a total of 172 international association meetings, Czechia ranked 23rd in the world. Prague also achieved an outstanding result, placing 6th globally among cities and joining leading business events destinations such as Lisbon, Paris, Barcelona and Vienna. At the same time, an increasing number of international event organisers are turning their attention to other Czech cities as attractive conference destinations.
Registration is now open
Participation in the conference is free of charge; however, prior registration is required. Participants may register for the morning programme, the afternoon session or the full-day conference. Capacity is limited.
The full programme, speaker profiles and registration form are available on the CzechTourism Forum website.