"We'd like to reach a point where Czech people spend at least a part of their holidays, be it summer or winter, at home," said Regional Development Minister Radko Martínek.

To achieve that goal, the government is launching a 35 million Kč ($1.4 million) public relations campaign to encourage Czechs to explore their homeland and spend more of their travel budgets domestically. Three quarters of the money for the program will be drawn from European Union funds.

The government decided to act after learning that last year Czech citizens spent 70.619 billion Kč traveling abroad and a mere 18.682 billion Kč at home, according to Karin Seligová, spokeswoman for CzechTourism. She said Czechs spend an average 3,365 Kč on one domestic vacation compared with 12,885 Kč on travel to an exotic foreign destination.

"Tourism within this country is essential for developing all regions. ...We want to convince people they can spend some enjoyable holidays and money at home," said CzechTourism director Rostislav Vondruška.

The influx of foreign tourists in the Czech Republic rose more than 19 percent to 6.06 million last year. The destinations attracting the majority of foreigners were Prague (56.6 percent), the Karlovy Vary spa region in west Bohemia (8 percent) and the north Bohemian mountain regions (6.2 percent). Other regions lagged significantly behind.

Although domestic travel has been on the rise — 58 percent last year — expenditures on foreign travel are far greater than domestic travel. According to local consultants who track the travel industry, 2.8 million Czechs spent their holidays at home last year, but only one-fourth of their total travel budgets landed here.

Apart from merely appealing to Czech tourists to invest more in local travel, Regional Development Minister Martínek said the agency is considering other incentives, including incorporating a French program that requires employers to provide travel vouchers to employees to pay for travel services within the country.

Boosting tourism in this country became a priority for Prime Minister Jiří Paroubek when he took over in April. Paroubek, who previously acted as Regional Development Minister and was responsible for promoting tourism, said earlier this year the government wanted to raise the amount of EU funds to be used in promoting tourism.

From its joint regional program the EU has allocated 759 million Kč for the support of travel services and 762 million Kč to improving infrastructure in the country in 2004–06.

Other subsidies for developing travel in-country will come from the Agriculture Ministry's Leader ČR program, which sponsors development of poorer regions.

Launched last year, the program distributed 77 million Kč to different areas of the country. Over the next two years, between 70 million and 270 million Kč will be spent on regional development.

The Czechs hope to tap up to 18 billion Kč from the EU fund for regional development when the EU budget for 2007–13 is approved.

CzechTourism spokeswoman Seligová said targeted regions are required to use the subsidies for developing tourist attractions such as cycling paths and the manufacturing and sale of locally produced traditional products.

Last-minute lure

CzechTourism Director Vondruška predicted Czech tourism could rise as much as 4 percent this year due to the fact that many citizens have already traveled internationally and may now opt for destinations closer to home.

Jaromír Beránek, director of Mag Consulting Company, which monitors the travel industry, is skeptical. He said it could be difficult to persuade Czechs to stay home when the crown is so strong and last-minute travel deals are so cheap.

"The low price of last-minute tours to Tunisia or Egypt offered by [local] travel companies earlier this summer made many people reconsider plans to stay home when they realized they could go abroad for the same price," Beránek explained.