As summer ends, looking back at Czechia's hottest holiday search trends

As astronomical summer ends and autumn draws in, the time is coming for Czechia to say goodbye to summer. This year saw the fifth-hottest summer on record, according to Prague meteorologists, and the first in which the country was able to live with relative normality after the Covid pandemic.

New data from Semrush has now revealed the biggest trends of the summer. By looking at the most-searched items on Google in Czechia, the company provides a glimpse into how people have spent the last three months. Search results were analyzed in both Czech and English, so specific activities and interests of the local expat population were revealed.

Here's a rundown of key findings from Semrush’s analysis of online searches in June, July, and August as we bid farewell to the vanishing summer of 2022.

After two years of travel restrictions, this summer finally provided a chance to travel without any Covid disruptions. People grabbed this opportunity with both hands. Interestingly, though, the ranking of holiday searches differed significantly between Czech- and English-language searches.

The top-five most popular foreign destinations searched in Czech were, in descending order, Croatia, Turkey, Greece, Egypt, and Bulgaria. The top three searches reflect Czechs’ love of warm Mediterranean seas, and also, perhaps, their preference for more affordable destinations.

A surprising entry at number six in the top ten was Albania, a destination that has not been highly searched in the past. The result suggests that after pandemic closures Czechs were on the lookout for new options to vary their annual holiday routine.

For English-language searches, the results were very different. The most-searched destinations were Italy and Malta, but the second most common search was simply for “cheap summer vacations,” illustrating the budgetary concerns of holidaymakers as hard economic times start to bite.

The Czech Republic boasts an impressive array of summer festivals, ranging from music to art, fashion and design to circus.

The most-searched items tended to favor festivals that took place in Prague’s famous Letná park, partly due to the similarity of the word Letná with the adjective Letní (summer). The Letní Letná circus and theater festival, with its admirable play on the similarity of the two keywords, was at the top of the rankings, along with the Zlín outdoor film festival and the Summer Baroque Festival.

Summer beer festivals were also firmly in the top ten. This is an unsurprising focus of interest given Czechia’s legendary beer scene. Another revealing highlight of this year’s Czech-language searches was an interest in part-time work at festivals.

English-language results skewed more towards foreign festivals, although generic searches such as “Prague summer festival” were popular, helping expats learn more about options for local activities.

Open-air cinemas are something of a retro experience, and they’re becoming increasingly popular in the Czech Republic. Prague is the nation’s number one destination, but Semrush’s analysis shows that the trend has also taken hold throughout the country, with residents of every major city searching for places to watch films outdoors.

After Prague, the most popular open-air cinema search was for the Haječek open-air cinema in České Budějovice, which runs a rich program of films, concerts, and theater performances. Brno summer cinema appeared twice on the list: films fans searched by city but also by location – the open-air cinema at the city’s scenic Špilberk Castle was the tenth-most searched-for “letní kino” this summer.

Olomouc's open-air cinema with its stunning views of the city’s St. Wenceslas Cathedral came in at number five (for those who still want to visit the welcoming cultural space is open for winter activities as well)!

Family holidays with children are a joy, but also potentially a challenge. Finding activities to keep kids entertained away from home usually requires some careful planning, and this was reflected in popular Google searches this year.

Semrush data shows that the most searched terms this summer related to creative activities for kids and options for what to do with children in specific locations. The most-searched Czech location for kids’ activities was the Jeseníky mountains.

But interestingly, the dominant search theme was for activities with kids in Austria, highlighting the popularity of the Czech Republic’s Alpine neighbor as a summer destination for young families. Austria and the Alps in fact dominated the top ten, appearing in separate searches and occupying five of ten spots; the Italian Alps showed up as the tenth-most-searched term.

Semrush also analyzed Czechs’ most popular searches in a generic “Co v létě?” category, examining more general summer interests.

Among the most popular searches were “what to do with a stroller in the summer,” “what to cook in summer,” “100 things to do in summer,” “what to pack for the mountains in summer,” and “what to grow in a greenhouse in summer,” and “how to catch carp in summer.”

A couple of unexpected searches also appeared in the top ten including searches about summer tonsillitis and how to beat summer boredom.

It’s clear, then, that people in Czechia have been eager to get back to traditional outdoor pursuits: hiking in the mountains, fishing, gardening, and international travel. Search result data compiled and analyzed by Semrush reveals a nation emerging from the restrictions of recent years to once again enjoy heat and holidays this summer.