International Property News

CZ - Tourist numbers up 3.8%

18th February 2008

Some 6.7 million foreign tourists visited the Czech Republic last year, up 3.8 percent year-on-year, and guest numbers at Czech accommodation establishments rose by 1.9 percent year-on-year to 13 million, the Czech Statistical Office (CSU) said Monday.

The number of domestic tourists was 0.1 percent lower at 6.3 million.

Overnight stays of foreigners numbered 20.6 million last year, a year-on-year growth of 2.6 percent.

The number of Czech tourists who stayed overnight reached 20.2 million, a drop of 5.3 percent.

Foreign tourists made up some 51 percent of all the tourists at collective accommodation establishments last year.

Most tourists traditionally visited Prague - 4.5 million of whom nearly 90 percent were foreigners.

The highest number of guests by country of permanent residence arrived from Germany, followed by visitors from Great Britain, Italy, America and Russia.

The longest average time of stay was 6.3 days and was seen for Russian guests, said statisticians. For all guests, it was 4.2 days and for foreigners 4.1 days.

CzechTourism agency head Rostislav Vondruska appreciated the fact that interest in the Czech Republic has been growing in the neighbouring countries (Slovakia, Poland and Austria).

He attributed a drop in the number of German visitors to the mild winter and lack of interest in the Czech mountains. Moreover, the hot summer was no good for visiting cities, he said.

CzechTourism spokeswoman Karin Seligova says that German and Dutch visitors increasingly stay with friends. "Dutch people buy properties in the Czech Republic in which they spend their holidays," said Seligova.

Tourism accounts for more than 3 percent of GDP. Foreign exchange revenue from tourism topped Kc113bn in 2006. A growth is projected for last year.

Data of the central bank show that the foreign exchange revenue from tourism stood at nearly Kc92bn in Q1-Q3 last year, up 7.5 percent year-on-year.

Jihomoravsky region in southern Moravia was the second most visited region in the Czech Republic (1.2 million guests) in 2007 after Prague, followed by Jihocesky region in southern Bohemia (981,000 guests).

Karlovarsky region in western Bohemia was the second most frequently visited region after Prague, with 472,000 visitors or nearly 70 percent of all the guests.

Liberecky region in northern Bohemia reported the biggest fall in visitor numbers, nearly 12 percent, and Jihocesky region registered a drop of 11 percent.

Hotels and guest houses registered a full-year occupancy rate of 43.1 percent, the highest rate at five-star hotels - 62 percent. Four-star hotels showed a 56.5-percent occupancy rate, other hotels and guest houses 37.4 percent.

The CSU registered a growth of the rate at hotels and guest houses, with a fall reported for other accommodation establishments.

In the fourth quarter of 2007, there were 1.5 million foreign visits with overnight stays in the Czech Republic, up 9.6 percent on the year. A growth of 7.1 percent to 1.2 million was reported for domestic tourists.

Most foreign tourists in Q4 arrived from Germany in spite of the fact that their number was 1.4 percent lower in a year-on-year comparison. They were followed by tourists from Britain and Italy. The number of Russian tourists was 27.5 percent higher. Russians were the fourth most frequented guests� group in nonresidents.

The number of overnight stays totalled 7.9 million in Q4 2007, up 7.9 percent on the year. The growth reached 8.2 percent for foreign tourists and 7.5 percent for domestic tourists.

The occupancy rate stood at 41.1 percent in the last quarter of 2007. Five-star hotels had a 60.8-percent occupancy rate and four-star hotels showed a 53.5-percent occupancy rate. Other hotels and guest houses had an occupancy rate of 34.9 percent.

Most tourists stayed in Prague, 56.6 percent, and the least number of tourists in Ustecky region in northern Bohemia, 24.4 percent.