How to travel responsibly in Czechia: new guide encourages visitors to explore the country with respect
With outdoor tourism on the rise, the national tourism agency CzechTourism has launched a new guide encouraging people to explore the country more responsibly. I spoke with the agency’s director, František Reismüller, and asked him why the Travel Responsibly in Czechia manual was launched now.
"Well, there are basically two reasons. First of all, there is an increasing demand for this kind of tourism. Especially younger travellers are more and more inclined to travel responsibly, and we want to show them how they can do it in Czechia.
"There is also growing demand from the regions of Czechia, protected areas, and city and town destinations that want to reach the right audience and encourage visitors to travel responsibly in their areas. So we are trying to meet the needs and requests coming from the regions."
The guide comes in two versions—one focused on traveling in nature and another on responsible travel around the country more generally. What kind of advice will visitors find in it?
"First of all, we generally encourage travellers to travel responsibly and show them practical ways to do it. For example, we suggest traveling off-season and visiting places off the beaten path.
"We also explain how visitors should behave in nature reserves so they do not leave a negative impact. These are often simple suggestions, such as checking online first to see if a destination is overcrowded and possibly choosing another place to visit.
"Overall, the advice is quite simple, but we still believe it is necessary and useful for potential travellers."
Do you see demand from travellers themselves? Are people changing their habits and wanting to travel more responsibly?
"Yes, definitely. In fact, that is one of the main reasons we started this initiative.
"It is part of a global trend. People are increasingly interested in traveling responsibly, using more sustainable means of transportation, traveling off-season, and exploring destinations beyond the typical tourist routes.
"So we are simply following these worldwide trends and providing travellers with the information they need."
Where will the brochures and guides be distributed? Where can travellers find them?
"First of all, we already have dedicated landing pages that we continue to develop on our website for foreign travellers, visitczechia.com.
"For domestic travellers, there is also the well-known Czech travel portal Kudy z nudy. Both websites contain dedicated sections where people can learn a lot about sustainable and responsible travel in Czechia.
"In addition, we created a printed leaflet that will be distributed in tourist information centres across the country, at tourism fairs around the world, and generally wherever travellers look for information."
The information is available in Czech and English. Who is the main target audience for this campaign?
"Generally, the main target group consists of so-called FITs—free independent travellers. These are typically younger travellers who prefer traveling individually rather than in organized groups, although tour operators might also find the material useful. Our main focus is therefore independent travellers, whether they are international visitors or Czech tourists.
"The leaflet itself is available only in Czech and English, mainly for budgetary reasons. However, the online versions are being translated into other languages. Our VisitCzechia portal already exists in 17 languages, and we are working to translate the online version of the manual into all of them."
Finally, what is the main message you would like tourists, both Czech and international, to take away from this campaign?
"The main message is that it is very easy and convenient to travel sustainably and responsibly throughout Czechia.
"We also want to encourage travellers to go beyond the most famous destinations, explore new regions, and look for undiscovered experiences outside the main tourist areas.
"Another important idea is to consider traveling off-season, because it offers great advantages—fewer people and completely different, often unexpected perspectives on places you visit."
