Czech Tourist Authority aims to improve your stay

What are some of the problems that tourists encounter when they visit the Czech Republic? Well, the Czech Tourist Authority and other groups concerned with the Czech tourism industry have highlighted poor conditions at train stations, misleading advertising at bureaux de change and unqualified foreign tourist guides. And the Czech Tourist Authority's ultimate goal is to have all of these areas improved.

Tourists flock to the Czech Republic attracted by the beauty of its cities, towns and landscape. But sometimes they leave the country with experiences of a more ugly side, having been charged unfair rates for currency exchange or been led around by an unlicensed, unqualified guide. The Czech National Tourist Authority, the Czech parliament's Sub-committee for Tourism and representatives of the Ministry for Regional Development got together this week with twelve tourist associations to discuss how this "ugly side" can be improved.

David Gladis is the director of the Czech Tourist Authority, and I spoke with him on Wednesday about the problems that tourists face in the Czech Republic:

"We have started to resolve some of them. We have started with the unfair behaviour of exchange points in the centre of Prague. And we will organise controls from various state institutions, so that there is much more pressure on them. Hopefully they will start to behave more fairly, or they will lose their licences."

Another issue is that of crime and poor services at Czech train stations, but Mr Gladis insists that something is being done to improve these:

"Another thing is the situation at the train stations in Prague, which are a bit dirty, a bit unsafe. But there is a chance, right now, to change the situation, because a private company will lease the train stations and will be responsible for the situation at the stations. So we will encourage the company to change the situation, to improve safety, to improve cleanliness there, and to provide more information services at the stations. And I hope that the private company will be more ready and more efficient in changing the situation."

And while some tourists encounter problems when they come to the Czech Republic, there are those who face obstacles even before arriving in the country. Take, for example, Australians and Canadians, who have to apply for tourist visas before coming to the Czech Republic. David Gladis says that the Czech Tourist Authority is also endeavouring to have these visa regulations made easier:

"We have already started talks with the Ministry of Foreign affairs, and we have suggested that visas for Australians and Canadians should be abolished. But we will see within a few months what the response of the ministry is, and then the negotiations with Australia and Canada have to start. And I hope that it will at least be much easier for them to get the visas."