Prague ranks fifth in popular Travelers’ Choice survey

Travellers world-wide have grown increasingly accustomed to checking tourist website TripAdvisor when planning vacations and also ranking top destinations they visited. The results of the annual Travelers’ Choice survey where cities are ranked by visitors themselves, have just been announced. The good news? Prague ranked fifth out of 25 top destinations listed.

Prague, photo: Filip Jandourek

Previously Prague ranked ninth in TripAdvisor’s survey Top 25 Travelers’ Choice World Destinations: this year, the capital has done four better. The Top 5 result is obviously a success, not least because the prestigious survey is based on input by tourists or travellers themselves. Thousands of visitors ranked key sites such as Prague Castle with St. Vitus’ Cathedral and Old Town Square, with only a handful expressing disappointment. A little earlier I spoke to Kateřina Bártová of Prague City Tourism who described the survey result as a major success.

“The word of fellow travellers counts for a lot, maybe much more than any kind of advertising. It’s also very authentic feedback for all of us working in the tourism business.”

Jan Herget of the official state agency CzechTourism agrees the result is an important one and that there can be an additional positive knock-on effect.

“Just to be on the list is really important and to be fifth is really amazing. People love to search what is trendy, what is new, and where they should be visit. To be 5th is a major marketing tool.”

According to Prague City Tourism’s Kateřina Bártová, it is no surprise that historic sites like the Castle or the 14th century Charles Bridge remain key attractions for visitors to the city.

Old Town Square, photo: Kristýna Maková

“Number 1 on any tourist check-list is of course Prague Castle with the cathedral and Golden Lane. The Old Town Square remains a major draw as do additional sites like the Old Town Hall, the National Theatre and so on.”

Jan: A bit of a cheeky question for you… what will it take to ‘make’ Prague No. 1 (like Istanbul is now)?

“That’s a tricky question…but obviously the continued improvement of services can’t hurt. It would also be nice to connect Prague with a major cultural event to draw more visitors. Certainly we will continue doing our best to promote Prague’s beauty all over the world.”