Czechs exploring home

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Czechs exploring home	2006-07-23 20:01:41
autor: Cristina Muntean
The Czech regions are attracting more tourists with entertainment facilities and special events, but in order for regional tourism to really take off, better quality services and more accommodation are still needed. Last year Czech tourists traveled and spent more money in their home country than abroad, a phenomenon that last occurred 15 years ago, according to a report published by the Association of Tour Operators and Travel Agencies of the Czech Republic (A?CKA). Better tourism services and more varied entertainment options helped prompt Czechs to spend about K? 87 billion (? 3 billion) at home, compared to the K? 78 billion they spent abroad. The favorite domestic destination for Czechs remains the region of South Bohemia, followed by Central Bohemia, and Hradec Králové, in East Bohemia. The Ústí nad Labem region, in Nort Bohemia, saw the most significant increase in the number of visitors, up 44 percent compared to 2004, with Pardubice, East Bohemia, a close second with a 40 percent increase. ?In the EU-15, it?s a normal trend that nationals spend more time at home than abroad,? said Tomio Okamura, spokesman for A?CKA and a member of its presidium. As an example, he cited the German capital Berlin, whose annual visitation breaks down to 65 percent German nationals and 35 percent foreigners. Okamura said that after the Velvet Revolution in 1989, Czechs developed an image of foreign vacations offering something colorful and exciting that they couldn?t find at home. Now, the situation has changed, mainly due to service diversification and infrastructure improvements. ?From nicely arranged tables and meals to water parks and renovated centers of historical towns, Czechs are discovering that traveling at home isn?t so dark anymore,? he said. Domestic travel also got a boost from a project called kudy z nudy (?which way from boredom?), a Web site advertising domestic vacation spots managed by CzechTourism, the state tourism promotion agency within the Ministry for Regional Development. In 2005, the site registered some 3 million visitors, according to CzechTourism spokeswoman Karin Šeligová. Solving problems But the fact that more people arrive in the regions hardly means that they have solved all their tourism-related problems; some Czech towns still don?t have enough hotel space to house the tourists they finally do attract. ?When we want to send a group to a smaller city, it?s not possible because they don?t have the accommodation capacity,? Okamura said. It?s a vicious circle, with tourists groups unable to stay in the regions because there are no hotels to lodge them and with investors unwilling to build new hotels because there are no tourists to keep the occupancy rates high at hotels year round, he said. In addition, the small hotels and boarding houses in the regions usually don?t work quickly enough for travel agents to establish cooperation with them on a regular basis, according to Petr ?ech, the CEO of 1BigEurope, a Prague-based Internet travel agent specializing in Central and Eastern Europe. ?Often we don?t get a confirmation of the reservation in time,? he said. ?ech said that the lack of three-star or higher facilities in the regions isn?t so problematic: what hampers the development of regional tourism more is that many regional hotels and pensions don?t have firm cancellation conditions, consistent opening hours for the front desk, or a designated person responsible for dealing with reservations and travel agents. ?Often they say that only the owner can make a decision ? and that he?s out of the office at the moment,? ?ech said. Many small hotels and boarding houses also don?t give commissions to travel agents, asking them instead to add their fees on top of the customers? hotel rate. That disqualifies them from cooperation with agents like 1BigEurope, which guarantees that the customer won?t be charged more than the price they would pay to the hotel. Foreigners discover regions But Czechs aren?t the only ones interested in exploring their country?s hidden treasures. Foreign tourists, even if more tempted by Prague, still make up a consistent segment of those who spend their holidays in the Czech Republic?s regions. While for the domestic tourists South Bohemia and South Moravia remained the most attractive destinations, foreigners are tempted to go to locations more famous abroad. In 2005, the second most-frequented region by foreign tourists after Prague was the spa town of Karlovy Vary, West Bohemia, with some 400,000 stays, an increase of 4.9 percent compared to 2004, according to CzechTourism. Spa tourists stay longer and spend more money than other kinds of visitors. In the Karlovy Vary region, the average length of a stay is 7.5 days, while in Prague, for example, it is 3.8 days. A major source of visitors for Karlovy Vary is Russia, with more than 42,000 annual tourists who spend a record average time of 13.1 days. ?[In the Czech Republic] there are many other [spa] facilities, such as the Mariánské Lázn? or Františkovy Lázn?, which are unfamiliar to Russian tourists and should be advertised more,? said Vladimír Stržalkovsky, the head of the Russian Federal Office for Tourism. In 2005, almost a half of the foreign tourists who visited the Karlovy Vary regions were housed in spa accommodations, which was a 70.4 percent increase compared to 2004. Another important event that draws international attention to Karlovy Vary is the international film festival that started June 30 this year. With organizational costs reaching about K? 120 million (? 4.22 million), the festival consistently boosts the local economy. ?During the time of [the annual summer] film festival, we expect a hotel occupation rate of 100 percent,? said Vera Franzová of the Information Center of Karlovy Vary. The normal occupation rate of hotels throughout the year is about 55 percent for the five star hotels, about 65 percent for the four star hotels and about 69 percent for the three star hotels, according to the center?s figures. ?Local businesspeople talk about a 60 percent increase in revenue during the festival,? said Ivana Kosulicová, the international PR representative of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Festivals seem to be a good opportunity to draw tourists? attention to some destinations. According to Markéta Chaloupková, a PR manager for CzechTourism, other festivals that Czech communities organize are Hefaiston in at Helfštýn castle, near Lipník nad Be?vou in Central Moravia, with about 10,000 visitors; the Royal Kutná Hora Silver Festival in Kutná Hora, Central Bohemia, with around 7,000 visitors; Casanova Festival Duchcov, a free event in North Bohemia visited by about 8,000 people; or the St Wenceslas Celebrations in ?eský Krumlov, South Bohemia, with about 4,000 visitors. Chaloupková added that the figures are only estimates, as many events are free. ?Festivals are good, but they aren?t a solid base for tourism,? the A?CKA?s Okamura said. ?We need to focus more on consolidating the regions with good infrastructure and promotion of events for the entire year.? Prague rules The capital city of Prague still remains the favorite destination for foreign tourists, according to statistics. ?Ninety percent of Prague?s visitors [using overnight accommodations] are foreigners; the rest are Czech entrepreneurs, not tourists,? Okamura said. In 2005, out of 19.5 million total overnight stays in the Czech Republic, Prague took 11.2 million. According to the Czech Statistical Office (?SÚ), 3.7 million Prague tourists were foreigners; that means 58.8 percent of all the foreign tourists that visited the Czech Republic last year. The main source of foreign tourists in Prague was the United Kingdom, with 1.6 million stays, followed by Germany, with 1.4 million, and Italy, with 1 million stays. "Prague, as a capital city, is very well-known because there are a lot of sights, cultural events sports possibilities; on top of that, you can also choose various kinds of accommodation,? CzechTourism?s Šeligová said. And the city doesn?t have the problem with accommodation that hurts regional tourism. According to Šeligová, in 2004 Prague had the largest share of the growing market sector of four- and five-star hotels. Seven new five-star and 20 four-star hotels opened in 2004, making a total of 23 and 89 respectively. The average price per person per night was K? 4,113 and K? 1,818 respectively. According to Okamura, for the regions a possible hope in the long term might be lower taxes to stimulate entrepreneurs to invest more in local tourism infrastructure. But a change of attitude in staff behavior would also be a help. ?If I could change anything, I would just tell people who work in the tourism industry to be kind and try to provide a good atmosphere in what you do,? Okamura said. ?It's not a matter of education or money; but good behavior will always bring tourists back,? he said. By Cristina Muntean & Pavla Kozáková

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