Tourism recovering in Prague, thanks to Germans and Americans returning

Tourism is showing signs of recovery following the pandemic, with an increase in both domestic and foreign tourists coming to Prague. Figures are still below pre-pandemic levels, though. The rest of Czechia also saw a recovery. While Americans in particular have returned to Prague in large numbers, tourists from Southeast Asia so far have not.

According to the Czech Statistical Office, Prague was visited by over 1.84 million tourists between July and September. The largest group was Czechs, while foreigners accounted for 1.44 million visits. Domestic tourists visiting Prague increased by 32 percent compared to the summer of 2019, but their numbers were slightly lower than in 2021. As for the foreign tourists, Germans led the way, followed by Americans, Poles, Slovaks, and Brits.

The total number of tourists is a 77 percent increase from 2021, while also being just 80 percent compared to pre-pandemic year 2019, according to Prague City Hall.

While tourists from the U.S. have been returning to Prague, travelers from Southeast Asia are still not back, and just 32,883 of them arrived during the summer season. The number is 86 percent fewer than for the same period of 2019. Tourists from the U.S., on the other hand, have proportionally returned to pre-pandemic numbers.

There is also a change in where tourists are going, with more people visiting sights outside the city center. Prague City Councilor Hana Třeštíková, who is responsible for culture and tourism, said that this shift fulfills the city hall's new strategy to redevelop tourism throughout the city, and not just in the center.

Representatives of the municipal agency Prague City Tourism are pleased with the current trend of increasing the ratio of domestic tourists to foreign tourists. Before the pandemic, domestic guests made up only 15 percent of the total number of tourists, a smaller percentage than for other European capitals.

According to the City Hall data, in neighboring Vienna, domestic tourists made up over 21 percent of the total number, while in Warsaw they were over 60 percent. The share of domestic tourism in Prague is currently 21.5 percent.

“We are very happy that we are succeeding in arousing the interest of domestic tourists in visiting Prague," František Cipro, chairman of the board of Prague City Tourism, said in the City Hall Press release. Cipro attributed the growth to the long-term "At Home in Prague" domestic campaign, which includes benefit packages, combined discounts and other incentives.

Prague City Tourism supported domestic and inbound tourism with strong marketing. A campaign aimed at foreign guests had excellent results in attracting visitors from the Polish, Italian, and German markets.

For all of Czechia from July to September, the total number of visitors who used accommodations reached 7.3 million, an increase of 11.1 percent year-on-year. The most numerous category was guests from abroad, while the number of domestic guests decreased in all regions. Compared to 2019, though, the volume of the number of guests reached 97 percent in the summer months.

The highest number of foreign guests in the third quarter of 2022 came from Germany. Compared to the same time in the previous year, their number increased by 57.2 percent. The second most numerous group was visitors from Slovakia, with a year-on-year increase of 58.1 percent. Guests from Poland ranked third and had an increase of 73.1 percent. The U.S. ranked first for tourists from non-European countries.