2013 tourist season shows promise, says travel industry analyst
The summer tourist season is half way through, and the numbers suggest it will be a good one for the Czech travel industry. Despite the protracted economic recession, the number of Czechs holidaying abroad has risen slightly. The Czech Republic has also reaffirmed its position on the global tourist market and more and more foreign tourists have began discovering the country’s regions rather than only spending a few days in the capital. In this edition of Marketplace, I discuss this year’s tourist season with Klára Droznová of Mag Consulting, a Prague-based travel and tourism consultancy firm.
So you think that in terms of numbers of Czechs going abroad on holiday, this year is going to be good?
“Well, we expect more or less the same numbers of last year. We expect a slight increase of around 1.5 percent in terms of Czechs going abroad but we think there will be a slight decrease in the numbers of Czechs spending their holidays in the Czech Republic. In total, the numbers should be more or less the same – in 2012, 2.5 million Czechs travelled abroad, and 3.8 million of them spent their holidays in their home country.”
Has that ratio changed over the last few years, perhaps due to the economic downturn?
“Yes, we see a slight effect of the financial and economic crisis. In 2008, just before the global crisis started, more Czechs in fact travelled abroad rather than stayed home for their holidays.”
What are the most popular destinations for Czech tourists? Is Croatia still on the top of the list?
“Absolutely. Croatia is still number one for Czechs – 30 percent of all those going on foreign holidays go to Croatia. And now, it’s become even more popular because of the country’s accession to the EU, and the open borders is something really attractive for Czechs. So Croatia remains number one.
When we look at the foreign destinations, is there any serious competition for Croatia? What are some of the other popular places?
“Other popular destinations include Slovakia but that’d because many Czechs go there to visit relatives, and to explore the Tatra mountains, and also Italy, Spain and Turkey. Turkey is popular for shopping. In general, the Mediterranean is popular during the summer season, and the exotic destinations such as Indonesia and Southeast Asia is popular during winter because of the monsoon season.”
Have you registered any changes in terms of the amount of money Czechs spend on holidays, or the lengths of their stays?
“Well, there are the top 10,000, and these clients are very stable and will always spend their money. Otherwise, the economic crisis made a lot of Czechs think twice about costs. When they travel abroad, to Croatia let’s say, they tend to travel in their own cars and to bring their own food with them, those ready-to-cook meals, frozen goods, and so on.
“Czech clients either buy all inclusive packages, or they travel in their own cars and go for self-catering. They won’t spend any extra money, they are trying to save.”
What share does individual tourism have? Does that represent any considerable section of the tourists? Do you have any records of that?
Looking at the Czech travel industry from the point of view of incoming tourists, have you seen any changes this season in the number of tourists or the countries of origin?
“The most important source country for the Czech Republic is Germany. Last year, we had 1.4 million German tourists here in the Czech Republic, and they are very important for regional tourist destinations. When they come here, they usually come individually and only about one third of them visit Prague while the rest stay in the regions. Unfortunately, their numbers are not increasing but remain the same.
“A very dynamic growth has been registered with Russian tourists. Last years, some 700,000 Russians visited the Czech Republic which was an annual growth of 24 percent, which is a lot.”
Does the Czech Republic advertise its tourist destinations in Russia? Or why are Russians such a dynamically developing group of incoming tourists?
“Well, they have always been coming here but they have recently began exploring other parts of the country, and are no longer coming only to Prague which used to be the case. What’s special about Russian clients is that they like spending money so it’s like a shopping spree when they come here. So one reason they come is certainly shopping.”
Czech tourist bodies, such as CzechTourism, have long been trying to disperse incoming tourism to regions. Have they been successful?
