The number of tourists visiting the Czech Republic has increased by a third year on year, particularly among foreign visitors, according to data from the Czech Statistical Office (CSU). The CSU found that 3.8 million tourists stayed in hotels, guesthouses, and campsites in the country during Q1 2023, a 33% increase on the same period in the previous year. The number of foreign visitors rose by almost 90% during that period. The number of domestic tourists also increased. Tourists spent almost 10 million nights in accommodation facilities during the first three months of the year, a quarter more than last year.
Domestic tourists made up 2.1 million of the total of 3.8 million visitors. The other 1.7 million came from abroad. While the number of visitors has increased, it remains below 2019 levels. Operators report that they are still missing a fifth of the foreign clientele who visited the Czech Republic before the pandemic, according to Pavel Vančura, head of the CSU’s tourism and environment statistics department.
The number of hotel guests rose by 43.4% year on year to 2.9 million during the first three months. Half a million tourists stayed in guesthouses, a 10% year-on-year increase. Other accommodation facilities accounted for one-tenth of the total. The most visited regions, in addition to Prague and the Karlovy Vary region, were the Královéhradecký and Liberecký regions. The number of domestic clients visiting these regions decreased year on year.
Germans were the most significant foreign visitors, accounting for a quarter of all foreign tourists in Czech accommodation facilities. Approximately 438,200 Germans visited the country during Q1 2023. Visitors from Slovakia were the second-largest group, with 154,360 people, followed by visitors from Poland, with approximately 133,080 guests.
Services providers in the Czech Republic experienced a 0.1% year-on-year decline in revenue during the first quarter of 2023, following seven quarters of growth. Transport and storage were the hardest-hit sectors, while accommodation, catering, and hospitality performed the best. The country’s revenue decreased by 0.1% compared to the previous quarter.
The tourism industry has been slowly recovering since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. However, challenges still need to be addressed to ensure the sector continues to grow, mainly as many countries are dealing with new waves of COVID-19 infections. As vaccination campaigns continue and travel restrictions ease, it is hoped that tourism will continue to recover in the Czech Republic and around the world.