Will the crisis stop travel ? The survey clearly says no !

Evaluation of the summer touristic season 2008

1. From the point of view of foreign tourists in the Czech Republic

Ministry for Regional Development of the Czech Republic

Foreign tourists arrived to the Czech Republic mostly from Germany, Great Britain and Italy, in the period of January - September 2007. In the summer period, most tourists coming into collective accommodation establishments were from Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Italy and USA.

Foreign tourists expended in average 2 488 CZK (the amount also includes the expenditures payed before arrival into the Czech Republic) per person and per day within the period January - September 2007 . Within the period July - September 2007, it concerned expenditures of 2 517 CZK in average (the amount includes the expenditures payed before arrival into the Czech Republic) per person and per day.

Mgr. Jana Kozlíková
Tiskové oddělení (Press Office)
22486 1126, tiskove@mmr.cz

Association of Czech Travel Agents

In incoming, the network of hotels - even of high quality - has expanded, while the demand may increasingly come from the ranks of less lucrative clientele (except for the congress and golf tourism). As regards the Czech Republic, it is thus necessary to solve both weaknesses (transport to some localities, well-known shortcomings etc.) and to focus the promotion purposefully on the tourist layers with the greatest benefit. For this reason, we also need the help of media - each negative report will damage these efforts and it will be exploited by competition countries.

Jan Papež
Press Spokesman
603 535 989, jan.papez@ackcr.cz

Association of Hotels and Restaurants of the Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic, accommodation capacities have been continuously accumulating and thereby, even despite the increasing interest of foreign tourists in the Czech Republic, the desired occupancy rate was not reached even in the summer season. Our mutual aim should be to find a new segment of tourists, on which we would focus in the form of a joint promotion.

Bc. Václav Stárek
Secretary-General
236 042 388, starek@ahrcr.cz

Association of Tourist Guides of the Czech Republic

From the point of view of tourist guides, we evaluate this year's season as a very strong one. Newly, we have recorded an increase of visitors from the Balkan countries. The Czech Republic is a permanent destination for visitors from Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine and the Baltic states. Tour operators from the latter countries usually operate in our country independently, without a Czech partner. Regional excursions are often staffed by their own guides. Tourist guide services are usually utilized only in Prague. The increasing number of individual visitors, who arrange their journey on their own without contacting a tour operator, impels us to search for new ways, in which to offer guide services even to those. Tourist guides cooperate more often with hotels and information centers or directly offer their services on the internet. The level of the services offered to visitors in Prague has been somewhat deteriorating, according to our opinion. During 2007, the proposal of a European standard for qualifications of a tourist guide was completed. Since introduction of this standard, we expect an improvement of professional and language qualities of new tourist guides and unification of qualification requirements in the EU countries.

PhDr. Stanislav Voleman
Chairman
603 492 300, asociacepruvodcu@seznam.cz

Prague Information Service

The tourism in Prague continues to grow at the pace that surpasses the growth in most other European cities. At the same time, what is significantly growing is the proportion of individual visitors, who organize their trips themselves, via internet and via the use of information centres. Currently, the proportion of individual tourists is almost 80 % and it is from this fact, from which negative feelings of tour operators about the development of tourism proceed. Simultaneously, the extent of investments flowing into construction of new accommodation establishments in Prague is higher than the volume of tourism, which may reflect in a decreasing occupancy rate of accommodation capacities.

Dagmar Houbová
221 714 345, houbova@pis.cz

2. From the point of view of Czech citizens, travelling across Czech regions

CzechTourism

In the recent years, the local tourism has been developing only very gradually. Nevertheless, the positive fact concerns expenditures of Czech tourists during their local travels, which - if we take into consideration shorter journeys, vacations, one-day trips and business trips - represent higher values than those that Czech tourists spend abroad. Shorter and more freuqent trips on weekends are a trend not just of the summer period. Also seniors with their grandchildren travel more and more often. The top role is played by sightseeing tourism and also by active tourism. Czech people are still more demanding as regards the ways in which to spend their spare time and they also demand new and better services. They are willing to invest more into accommodation and they are looking for accommodation capacities of higher categories with a background, such as a sports field, sauna and swimming pool, storing spaces for bycicles, places designed for children etc.

Ing. Karin Šeligová, Ph.D.
Press Secretary
221 580 610, seligova@czechtourism.cz

3. From the point of view of Czech tourists travelling abroad

Association of Czech Travel Agents (ACK)

This years season is evaluated as a successful one by the ACK of the Czech Republic. Regarding travels abroad of our citizens, an increased interest in better, respectively more complex services and air tours is being manifested, demand for hotels of middle and higher class is growing, as regards sojourns - all inclusive sojourns are increasingly popular. Clients more frequently take advantage of the first minute offer, where they have a greatest possibility of choice with discount prices of tours. Interest in exotic holidays is increasing, as its prices are becoming more accessible.

Jan Papež
Press Spokesman
603 535 989, jan.papez@ackcr.cz

Slovak Agency of Tourism

From the statistical data acquired so-far and released by the Ministry of Economy of the Slovak Republic, it is apparent that foreign currency profits from active foreign tourism in the Slovak Republic in the first half-year 2007 reached growth of 11%, and this is very pleasing. The data stating numbers of foreign visitors accommodated in Slovak accommodating establishments are less optimistic, they recorded decrease of 1,3 % in comparison with the same time period of the preceding season. Concerning the number of Czech visitors accommodated in Slovak accommodating establishments of tourism, the numbers are positive again, we have registered increase of 7,2 %. We believe that the statistical data at the end of the year will be positive and that the crown that has been gaining strength will not radically influence the interest of foreign tourists in visiting Slovakia.

Ing. Klára Badinková
224 946 082, sacrpraha@seznam.czz

Croatian Touristic Association

In 2007 in Croatia, for the first time since 2001, they recorded an increase in the number of arrivals and overnight stays of Czech tourists. According to the data for the first 9 months, arrivals increased by 10% and overnight stays increased by 12 % in comparison with the same time period of the previous year. The official statistics shows 663 337 registered arrivals and 4 463 788 registered overnight stays of Czech citizens in Croatia, however, according to our estimations, about 30 % of Czech tourists do not register when in Croatia. We estimate that the definitive number of Czech tourists, who spend their holidays in Croatia, will come close to 900 000 in 2007. Czech tourists are placed at the 4^th position behind Germans, Slovenians and Italians and their proportion is 8,2 % of all guests.

Antun Plenković
Director
222 211 812, info@htz.cz

Österreich Werbung

What are now the latest trends for future? An active holiday in summer. We are immensely pleased that a growing number of Czech tourists are discovering Austria in summer. In the summer season 2007, we achieved the record-breaking growth of 17 % of overnight stays. Ski holidays in Austrian Alps are still trendy. They concern above all prolonged weekends, both openings when initiating the season and spring skiing in April and May. Some „regulars" even come more times per year. On the whole, it can be seen that the trend is going to lie in short-term journeys.

Hana Pečová
Public relations
22 22 11 290, hana.pecova@austria.info

Czech Statistical Office (ČSU)

All the information abut tourism that the ČSÚ has been accumulating are available to the wide public on the internet pages www.czso.cz in the section Ekonomika - Cestovní ruch (Economy - Tourism). These include above all data concerning accommodation establishments (their attendance rate and offered capacities), data about holidays, recreation, spending of spare time and business trips of the citizens of the Czech Republic both locally and abroad, and last but not least, information about the economic significance of tourism within the framework of the entire economy of the Czech Republic.

Department of Information Services
274 052 304, infoservis@czso.cz