More Czechs holidaying abroad

More Czechs are choosing to holiday abroad this year with Croatia, Slovakia and Italy the most popular tourist destinations. The interest is driven by the stronger currency, following the end of forex interventions, and an increase in wages.

Croatia, photo: Czech Radio - Radio Prague

According to the Association of Czech Travel Agencies, an estimated 3.5 million Czechs will be holidaying abroad this year with 850 thousand holiday makers heading for seaside resorts in Croatia. The number of Czechs heading for the Croatian coast increases every year and many people return to the same place every summer. They go by car, cook their own food, easily make themselves understood and feel like they have a country cottage by the sea, Jan Papez deputy head of the Association of Travel Agencies told Czech Television.

Many Czechs are also rediscovering the holiday attractions of the Czech Republic’s former sister state Slovakia with 650,000 Czech tourists heading for the country this year, up by one hundred thousand as compared to 2016. Most Czechs heading for Slovakia head for the Tatra mountains where they get good service for affordable prices and face no language barrier whatsoever since Czechs and Slovaks have no problem understanding one another even if each is speaking their own language. The third most popular tourist destination with Czechs is Italy where an estimated 570,000 Czechs will head this year. In 2015 the country attracted half a million Czech tourists. Although the majority of Czechs heading for Italy choose seaside resorts, an increasing number of holiday makers have discovered the attraction of Italy’s ski resorts in the winter season.

Albania, photo: Marcin Szala, CC BY-SA 3.0

Egypt, Tunis, Greece and the United Arab Emirates are also increasingly popular with Czech tourists opting for exotic holidays and many adventure loving Czechs are discovering the natural beauty of Albania. Package holidays are no longer so attractive and most Czechs now head out on an individual basis, booking four star hotels and a program tailored to their individual requirements.

Czechs have also adopted the west European fashion of going on shorter holidays several times a year rather than having one long holiday in the summer. The average length of holidays booked is now one week.