Tourism industry rebounded in spring

Mercury wasn't the only element on the rise this spring and summer as warmer temperatures brought a highly anticipated rebound in the country's tourism industry. Of course, the gift of tourist cash was not evenly bestowed on all towns and regions, with some better able to invest in infrastructure and draw domestic as well as foreign guests.

Tourist visits to the country increased overall 8.9 percent year on year in the second quarter, with the number of Czechs traveling domestically up 13.5 percent and foreign visitors up 3.5 percent, according to the Czech Statistical Office. More foreigners splurged on nicer hotels, with overnight stays of foreign tourists up 15.2 percent and down 2.1 percent for locals.

CzechTourism spokeswoman Alice Dvořáková attributes the overall rebound in part to the political turmoil in normally popular North African destinations like Egypt and Tunisia.

As expected, Prague saw the highest growth among Czech cities, with a 13.7 percent increase in tourists for the quarter. The city rolled out a package of incentives at the beginning of the year especially for congress tourists, like free public transportation passes for conference groups over a certain size from out of the country.

Other oft-overlooked towns also changed their pre-crisis strategy to draw in tourists this year.

"We have seen many interesting investments this year," Dvořáková said. "Like the Temple of Hops and Beer in the town of Žatec, the opening of medieval underground cellars in Brno and the restoration of the Technical Museum in Prague. An example of a very impressive campaign has been The Year of the Rožmberk Nobility and a summer campaign presenting the attractions of north Moravia."

Though many creative campaigns have been trotted out since the beginning of the tourist season, not all towns and regions had equal access to funding for improvements to the tourism infrastructure.

"The main problem is the distribution of collected taxes among individual cities and regions," said Ondřej Špaček, senior adviser at KPMG.

Špaček explained that The Act on the Budget Allocation of Taxes strictly stipulates how much each city, municipality and region will get from the state budget, which is where almost all collected taxes go. Distribution is calculated based on the number of permanent residents.

"Municipalities, cities and regions are thus not motivated in any manner to be proactive and invest in their future," he said.

One town that has consistently maintained high tourist turnover is Český Krumlov in South Bohemia. Jitka Zikmundová, deputy mayor of the town, said the unseasonably sunny spring weather, coupled with new exhibits at the castle and services in the town, contributed to the high number of visitors.

"We don't have exact figures yet, but from my conversations with the director of the castle, it has been a good spring and summer," she said, adding that in July alone, visits to the castle were up 3,000 and tour buses entering the town were up 300 compared to the same time in 2010.

Český Krumlov also invested heavily in a marketing campaigns, especially around its International Music Festival, which runs from July 15 to Aug. 20, and Zikmundová said the town seems to be attracting more families and older couples with "empty nest" syndrome.

The country's famous spa destinations also fared well, with visits to the springs up 7.2 percent. Overnight stays, however, were down just under 1 percent, a discrepancy Špaček attributes to crisis spending habits.

"This is due to the generally higher price of spa resort stays, resulting from the prolonged stays of spa guests and additional treatment costs," he said. "In today's time of austerity, a significant percentage of people - relative to previous years - will simply decide to do without such an expense."

Špaček said one good thing to come out of the crisis has been improvements to services offered the tourists who visit, but that this hasn't been enough for some towns to entice visitors back.

"Other regional tourism centers - despite the improved quality of accommodation - find it rather difficult to return to the pre-recession figures," he said.

Emily Thompson can be reached at
ethompson@praguepost.com