Czechs opening consular offices in Split, Burgas and maybe Rijeka for summer season

The Czech Republic will open consular offices in the popular foreign holiday destinations of Split, Croatia, and Burgas, Bulgaria, as of Wednesday to help tourists in need, Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček (Social Democrats) told reporters on Monday.

Another consular office may open for the season in the Croatian city of Rijeka, he said. But unlike last summer, no such office will open in Barcelona, Spain, due to an expected drop in interest due to the coronavirus pandemic, which hit the country particularly hard.

This year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also introduced a consular call centre in Prague to which people can turn in lieu of visiting offices abroad. Deputy Minister Martin Smolek noted that Czech citizens can turn also seek help from honorary Czech consuls in the event of difficulties. There are now 223 of them in the world, and honorary consulates have recently opened in Tenerife, Madeira and Gijón in northern Spain before the summer tourist season.