There were more tourists in the 3rd quarter than before the pandemic
More tourists visited the Czech Republic in the 3rd quarter of this year than in the pre-Covid 2019 year. Almost 7.9 million of them arrived, of which more than 4.8 million (61.3%) were domestic guests and over 3 million (38.7%) foreign guests. Year-on-year, this means an increase in the total number of tourists in the Czech Republic by 8% and also by 4% more travelers compared to the period before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the ratio between domestic and foreign visitors has changed.
While residents, if we take the 3rd quarter of 2023 and the same period of 2019, traveled in the Czech Republic by 15% more, foreigners arrived by 9% less. The countries where tourists from abroad most often came from did not change much. This year, in the 3rd quarter, the largest number of Germans arrived (689,683, +19% year-on-year. They were followed by guests from Poland (286,118, +15% year-on-year), Slovakia (281,891, +7% year-on-year), the USA (165,999, year-on-year +19 %) and the Netherlands (116,776, year-on-year +18%).
“The good news is that the total number of arrivals from the TOP 5 countries also generally increased compared to the 3rd quarter of 2019. It is so obvious that it makes a lot of sense to target these markets with foreign campaigns, this year including our main Unexpected Traditions campaign, where the 2nd autumn wave is currently running and in mid-November, we will launch the 3rd wave focused on winter and mountains,” says František Reismüller, director of the Czech Tourism Center – adding: “In general, Czechs traveling in the Czech Republic spend on average person and day less than guests from abroad. However, while Czechs traveling around the Czech Republic spent more per person and day last year than before the pandemic (CZK 802 vs. 704), foreigners, on the contrary, spent less. Last year it was CZK 1,907, but in 2019 it was CZK 2,203. The potential of guests from abroad for the domestic economy is therefore more than obvious, and we are working intensively to get them to the Czech Republic.”
In the 3rd quarter of 2023, the largest number of tourists stayed in the capital city of Prague, approximately 2.2 million of them. This was followed by the South Moravian region with approx. 870 thousand guests and the South Bohemian region, where a total of approx. 807 thousand travelers stayed overnight.
“The regions most visited by tourists do not change much. Prague, South Moravia, and South Bohemia are in the top five most visited regions. However, while for Czech residents in the 3rd quarter of this year, the regional ranking of visitors was South Bohemia, South Moravia, Hradec Králové, Central Bohemia, Liberec Region, and Prague, for foreigners our capital was in the lead, followed by South Moravia, Karlovy Vary, South Bohemia and Hradec Králové Region,” says the head of the Czech Tourism Institute head office of the tourism industry – Petr Janeček and adds: “A greater regional distribution of travelers is of course beneficial for the Czech Republic, it helps with the sustainability of the tourism industry as well as the fact that we regularly publish an overview of undiscovered gems throughout the country in cooperation with the regions.”
At the same time, direct air connections play a fundamental role in the tourism industry. CzechTourism works intensively on them with Prague Airport and other entities. This year, among other things, the lines Prague – Seoul and Prague – Taipei were put into operation, and work is being done in the following years. The fact that this activity makes sense is confirmed by the figures for the 3rd quarter of 2023. They show that the number of guests from Asia is growing in the Czech Republic. From January to September this year, 206% more residents of South Korea arrived in the Czech Republic than in the same period last year, 156% more Japanese and even 1,196% more Taiwanese. Thanks to the lifting of COVID restrictions, there were also significantly more travelers from China, by 135%, and other Asian countries increased the number of visitors to the Czech Republic by a total of 37% compared to the 3rd quarter of 2022.
Details are available at https://tourdata.cz/data/navstevnost-huz-2012-2022/.