Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
0.78m arrivals in 2004 (an increase of 5.6% on
2003), a share of 9.9% and an average stay of
4 days. The 0.78m visitors from the United
Kingdom, with a share of 9.9% and an average
stay of 3.8 days, had a marked effect on the
overall visitor statistics in 2004, as the numbers
of Britons arriving represented an increase of
57.8% on 2003. The growth of budget airlines
particularly contributed to this phenomenon
(Šeligová, 2005a). Other markets that witnessed
a significant growth in visitor numbers to the
Czech Republic were Italy (5.1% share), the
Netherlands
Table 9.3 shows the number of arrivals of
visitors to the Czech Republic and the depar-
tures of Czech citizens abroad. Arrivals reached
a record 8.5m in 2004, and average length of
stay returned to the high 2001 level of 4.2 nights
in 2004 (Šeligová, 2005b).
The number of foreign visitors in registered
accommodation is indicated in Table 9.4. By far
the most popular types of accommodation are
three-star hotels (63.9%), with use of four-
(17%) and five-star hotels (5.5%) being less
significant. Earnings from tourism in 2004, at
107bn Czech Crowns (approximately
€
4bn or
$4.2bn; Table 9.1), showed an increase of 6.8%
on 2003 (Šeligová, 2005a, 2005b). The three
highest spending groups are Japanese, Russian
and Israeli visitors, each with an average daily
expenditure of US$134.
Seasonality has a medium impact on
visitor arrivals: the average annual share for
November, December, January and February is
5-6% each, compared with the July and August
share of 12.6% each. Travel agencies see a
large part of their business in May, June and
September. July and August are usually quieter,
which could be due to more independent travel-
lers arriving in the country with their own faci-
lities such as tents and camper-vans (mobile
homes). The quietest time for travel agencies is
January. The most popular services provided
by travel agencies are group outings to Prague
(65.6%), the Central Bohemia region (8.2%),
South Bohemia (8.1%), South Moravia (6.6%)
and the Karlovy Vary region (5.1%). Some of
the areas most visited in 2004 were Prague,
D
eský Krumlov, the Krkonoše Mountains and
the Šumava area (Šeligová, 2005c).
(4.1%),
Russia
(3.0%),
Spain
(2.6%), and the USA (4.5%).
By contrast, there were large decreases in
the numbers of visitors from Poland and Israel.
Arrivals from Israel fell by 10.4% in 2004
(76,339 arrivals and a 1% share). Those from
Poland had been falling since 2001 (0.37m
arrivals in 2004, a 4.7% share).
From a total of 6.1m visitors who stayed in
registered accommodation in the Czech Republic
in 2004, Prague took by far the greatest share -
57% of all international arrivals. This was an
increase of 31% on 2003. Prague's foreign visi-
tors spent an average of 3.8 days there, less
than the national average 4.1 days. None the
less, the Czech capital was the sixth most visited
city in Europe in 2004 after London, Paris,
Rome, Madrid and Berlin. Particularly following
budget airline route development, the largest
market share for visitors to Prague is from the
United Kingdom: a 17% share with 0.59m visi-
tors and an average stay of 3.8 days. Germany
is the second most important market (0.51m),
with Italy third (0.31m).
Karlovy Vary is the second most visited
region in the country, with 0.39m arrivals
(6.4% of the national share, with an average
stay of 7.6 days). The largest visitor flows in
2004 were from Germany (0.24m with average
stay of 8 days) and Russia (0.04m, average
12.8 days). Third most visited region is South
Moravia, with 0.35m arrivals (5.7% share),
with major visitor flows from Germany (59,601)
and Poland (55,481). By comparison, the
Pardubice and Highlands regions were the least
visited ones with just 53,018 (0.9% share) and
64,194 (1.1%) arrivals, respectively. The largest
regional decreases in 2004 were registered in
North Moravia (-9.3%), Olomouc (-8.9%) and
Ústí nad Labem (-4.9%) (Šeligová, 2005d).
Method of Transport
The Czech Republic is easily accessible from
much of Europe as the air transport network is
being steadily expanded. The number of pas-
sengers carried by air exceeded 9.6m in 2004,
an increase of 28% on 2003 (Johánek, 2004).
However, as shown in Table 9.5, the most
popular mode is still road transport. Trains are
less used, although the railway system provides
quality links with the European network.
The Czech Republic has one major inter-
national airport, Prague Ruzyne (Table 9.6),
