The Prague Post: A recent survey carried out by the Foreign Affairs Ministry revealed that many foreigners think Czechs are unfriendly and rather backward. Does this image concern you?

Rostislav Vondruška: Of course it does because I am Czech and I don't think our nation is unfriendly. I think it's just that some people still do not feel comfortable speaking with foreigners. Some of them have not learned a foreign language. How do you show you are friendly to someone from Elbonia [a made-up country mentioned in the comic strip Dilbert] when you do not speak Elbonian?

TPP: So it's only a matter of language?

RV: It's also that people are not accustomed to opening up instantly to strangers because before 1989 that was kind of dangerous. It requires two generations for this to change.

TPP: Is there anything the tourist board can do to make the process move a little faster?

RV: The part of the tourist board is a tiny one. But we do have an educational program that we would like to launch next year. It is mainly for people working in tourism, but not just them. It will involve thousands of people and will be the first time we [have done] anything this big. It will help people working in tourism-related jobs to be friendlier, to know more about what they are selling and how to sell it.

TPP: How about people who drive trams or work at the metro stations?

RV: They will all be included; these people need it most. The top complaint we get from visitors is about tram and metro ticket inspectors.

TPP: Every week I see some tourist being charged a fine on the metro because he didn't understand the system, not because he wanted to cheat the system. Have you thought about trying to fix this?

RV: It's gotten even worse. You used to have four options: full price, moderate price, kids [price] and [tickets for] retired people. Now it is so complicated — I am a native Czech and stood in front of the machine and just pushed one button and hoped I got it right.

One solution is to make it like London where you cannot get on the platform without the proper ticket, but I would understand if the transit authority found the technical changes needed to make this happen too expensive.

TPP: So do you have a more practical approach?

RV: I think at stations where tourists are most frequent, there could be helpers who could talk to the foreigners. You can usually tell who is confused. [The helpers] could prevent problems before they start. There is a new director of the tourist department at City Hall and we have talked to him a couple of times and are trying to solve this problem.

TPP: The Cabinet just approved a bill legalizing prostitution. There's also been a 20 percent increase in sex clubs around Wenceslas Square over the past five years, attracting loads of stag parties from the UK. Does the Prague's reputation as the brothel of Europe bother you?

RV: This damages the image of the country, for sure. If you are a man and you go to Wenceslas Square after 6 p.m., and you go from the bottom to the top [of the square], you will be stopped at least 10 times, even more. I am sure with these kinds of tourists there is crime coming into the country. But 99 percent of those visiting these clubs are harmless. We can try to talk to the airlines and do what Dublin did — [it] banned stag parties.

TPP: Is that what you want to do?

RV: Not right now. We would like to work instead on getting a more-attractive type of clientele for Prague. Prague doesn't need more tourists. There are 26 more four-star and five-star hotels in Prague compared to two years ago. The Four Seasons just bought four houses in the center of Prague, so they know the demand is there. Prague's average occupancy rate is over 80 percent, so who would complain? What Prague does need is a different mix of tourists. We have enough middle-class [visitors], a good portion of students, budget tourists; then there is the top segment, which is too small. We want more luxury and congress [convention] tourists.

TPP: What's keeping that from happening?

RV: The luxury tourists come but if they go outside of Prague, they don't find enough luxury infrastructure. This needs to change. The Czech Tourist Authority cannot solve this issue. This is an economic issue and investors must come from abroad and the Czech people need to get rich and then invest again in their hometowns. To boost congress tourism, we need to have direct flights to Asia. It is true that there are four-star hotels here that sell their rooms for $40 [1,000 Kč] per night in July because there is not enough business travel during that time.

TPP: What is the average room rate in Prague?

RV: Just under 100 euros [$120/3,000 Kč], about the European average.

TPP: What has been the biggest change in the profile of the typical traveler to the Czech Republic in the past five years?

RV: The average expenditure has gone up by at least 25 percent. There is more to explore, more to buy.

TPP: How do the visitor numbers look for this year?

RV: We are expecting over 8 million people to [visit] the Czech Republic. Last year was exceptional because there was pent-up demand that followed 9/11 and the floods. We will match last year, but not go beyond it.

TPP: Will the terrorist attacks in London have any impact on travel to the Czech Republic?

RV: We have a reputation as a safe country. We can say in presentations that we have never had a terrorist attack, which is a big thing now. People appreciate it.

TPP: Where do you stand on the debate over the name of this country that should be used with foreigners? Czechia? Česko? The Czech Republic?

RV: The official name of the country is Česká republika; it is in the constitution. I have no problem with the English version, the Czech Republic. Czechs are accustomed to Česko but [we wouldn't use it to market the country to English speakers because] it is a Czech word, like Česká republika. Czechia sounds not nice to me — it can be confused with Chechnya, and it was when we used it for the American market. I get more letters on this topic from Czechs than about taxi drivers. They tell me that the [name] Czech Republic, from the language and historical point of view, is nonsense. But Czechia doesn't work.