Prague launches new plan for sustainable tourism, quality of life for residents

Prague, May 19 (CTK) – The City of Prague has created a new concept for tourism aimed at boosting its cultivation and development, improving the city’s communication with people and balancing out the use of historical monuments by locals and tourists, according to a plan CTK has obtained.

The city also vows to improve its care for public areas and cooperation with the police.

Proceeds from tourism are to be reinvested in heritage maintenance.

Rules for checking some new services in tourism are to be drafted, according to the document.

The concept, named Prague City Tourism, aims at sustainable tourism along with the quality of the life of Praguers.

“The Prague urban conservation area has been overburdened for long. Tourists concentrate in the historical center of the city where foreign visitors strongly outnumber local residents,” the document says.

It adds that the city’s better communication with locals and entrepreneurs should help improve the situation. For example, night life would be boosted at places where it would not disturb local residents.

Simultaneously, it is necessary to improve communication with tourists and inform them about limits and rules for visitors to Prague. This would improve foreigners’ relation to Prague and Praguers’ relation to foreigners.

Praguers will see their access to cultural heritage facilitated, the document continues.

New cultural and sports infrastructure should be built to attract tourists from the overcrowded city center to other parts of Prague.

Clear rules for tourist transport means must be defined along with defining the areas of their use.

The city will create alternative tourist routes and support products of slow tourism aimed at tourists interested in local environment, the document says.

It says that Prague will also develop its cooperation with the state on solving problems related to new tourist services, mainly those concerning accommodation, transport and guides.

The center of Prague has seen a sharp  rise in Airbnb accommodation services over the past years. The number of the flats offered within Airbnb is estimated at 14,000. The document says the tax relations in this area should be redefined in favor of the city.

Prague saw 8.03 million tourists in 2019, who spent 18.46 million nights there, with two nights being the average. Prague generates 60.3 percent of the national GDP in tourism.