Prague, Aug 15 (CTK) – The number of Chinese tourists in the Czech Republic has been rising year-on-year, and they seek mainly the romantic impression of heritage sights in Prague and other UNESCO-listed towns, daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) writes yesterday.
Last year, some 300,000 Chinese arrived in the Czech Republic and this year,their number is estimated to rise by up to 60,000, Jan Papez, from the Association of Czech Travel Agencies, told MfD.
However, primarily hotel and restaurant owners in Prague and other Czech towns profit from the boom of Chinese tourists since they are not interested in landscape and wildlife.
In reaction to the rising number of Chinese tourists, new direct flights from China to Prague were put into operation.
“At present, we have a direct air connection with three large Chinese regions. This is unique, Poles and Austrians can only envy us,” Papez said.
Prague is traditionally the tourist destination number one not only for the Chinese. Nevertheless the number of tourists visiting the UNESCO-listed Cesky Krumlov, south Bohemia, and other towns, such as Olomouc, north Moravia, whose plague column entered the UNESCO list in 2000, has increased by dozens of percent since 2012, MfD writes.
It adds that Prague is popular among Asian tourists who like to take romantic pictures, for instance, in wedding outfits, outside its historic buildings.
MfD writes that not only investments in advertisements promoting the Czech Republic, but mainly a film helped attract tourists from Asia to this country, in particular a romantic comedy featuring popular Chinese actors that was premiered in 2014. About 100 million Chinese saw the film in a few weeks after the premiere in 2014 and they admired a romantic scenery with Prague Castle in the background, the presidential seat, on the screen.
The paper writes that the number of tourists from the neighbouring countries as well as south and north Europe, has been rising, too.
“This might be caused by the fact that many people decided not to travel to traditional destinations and they chose a country where they can feel safe,” Papez said.
According to the Czech Statistical Office (CSU), the number of tourists accommodated in Czech hotels and boarding houses increased by 14 percent this spring compared to the same period last year, and hotel operators expect the summer season to be better than in 2015 as well.
Apart from foreigners, more and more Czechs prefer spending their summer holiday at home and many seek stays in spa towns, such as Karlovy Vary and Marianske Lazne, west Bohemia. Domestic clients help compensate the stagnating or declining number of foreign visitors to Czech spas, MfD writes.
