Visitors to historical landmarks up, but still below pre-Covid levels

Czech historical landmarks welcomed 3.3 million tourists in the first eight months of this year, officials from the National Heritage Institute said on Wednesday. That figure was 8 percent higher than for the same period last year but is still one-fifth down on the number recorded in 2019, the year before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country.

The National Heritage Institute said numbers had fallen most markedly at its most popular sites, such as Český Krumlov, Hluboká and Karlštejn. This is in part due to a decline in foreign visitors, especially from Asia and Russia.

Admission fees for facilities operated by the National Heritage Institute were not increased in 2023, but next year they should rise by around 10 percent.