The number of Prague visitors increased slightly during the summer. There was another decline in September
Prague, November 9, 2020 - The decline in Prague tourism was slightly reduced to 67 percent in the third quarter, ie in the period from July to September, compared to previous months. This is mainly due to the summer months, during which the mitigated Covid 19 pandemic measures applied. However, the month of September brought another decline. According to data from the Czech Statistical Office, 746,290 visitors came to the metropolis in the third quarter and spent 1.6 million nights there. Of these, 316 thousand guests were from the Czech Republic.
In July and August, tourism in Prague took a breath again, thanks to the successful program At Home in Prague. 572,328 visitors came to Prague. These were mainly domestic tourists, Germans, Poles and Slovaks. However, in mid-September, a second wave of pandemic began and many countries began to include the Czech Republic on the list of high-risk countries. Tourism has started to slow down significantly again. According to the Czech Statistical Office, the decline in September is more than 75% compared to 2019.
"Coronavirus and related anti-epidemic measures are not good for tourism at all this year. We do not give up and we do our best to keep it. For the beginning of next year, we are preparing a program that would build on the successful campaign At Home in Prague and help start the upcoming tourist season. I firmly believe that we will learn to work with a pandemic in such a way that it affects our lives as little as possible and has the least possible impact on tourism," says Hana Třeštíková, Councilor for Culture and Tourism.
According to representatives from the Prague City Tourism organization, the share of domestic tourism has increased significantly this year to a record 42% compared to the usual 15%. This is mainly due to the fact that domestic tourism restarts faster than the foreign one. During the summer holidays, 231 thousand domestic tourists came to the metropolis. Prague thus recorded a 16% increase in domestic guests compared to 2019.
"After the mitigation of individual government regulations in the summer, we saw a gradual increase in the return of tourists. The overall decline in Prague tourism also decreased thanks to the At Home in Prague campaign. Thanks to the campaign, 70,000 visitors came to Prague, mainly from the Czech Republic and neighboring countries," says František Cipro, Chairman of the Board of Prague City Tourism, adding: "Unfortunately, with the end of the summer holidays and the deteriorating situation in connection with the pandemic, we expect similarly high losses as during the first wave in the spring. For example, Old Town Hall’s revenues are at 10% for September, which illustrates the real loss of income in tourism."