The Czech Republic: in the summer the demand has increased in combined tours

The Czech Republic in the first quarter of 2019 registered a 9% decline in arrivals from Russia. According to the National Tourism Board of the Czech Republic, in January-March, 131,000 citizens of the Russian Federation visited the Czech Republic, which is 8.9% less than in the same period a year ago. The Russian Federation is on the fourth position in terms of the number of tourist arrivals to the Czech Republic after Germany (418.6 thousand people), Slovakia (143.1 thousand) and Poland (136.9 thousand). 

In total, for the first quarter of 2019, 2.013 million tourists visited the Czech Republic, which is 0.2% less than during the same period last year. 

According to most experts, sales of the Czech destination as a whole have slowed down for several reasons. One of them is a reduction in the volume of direct transportation from Russian cities. For example, this year Czech Airlines canceled the traditional summer flight program on Prague-Ufa and Prague-Yekaterinburg routes. In addition, the frequency of flights in such regions as Rostov-on-Don, Kazan and Samara has decreased. 

According to experts of Biblio-Globus tour operator, the demand for tour packages to the Czech Republic in 2019 remains at the same level as last year. The booking depth reaches September. According to the tour operator, tours for 3-7 nights to Prague with sightseeing holidays are in the most demand. The demand for SPA tours to the Czech Republic also remains at the same level as last year. In the top offers are medical and health resorts of Karlovy Vary, Marianske Lazne, Jachymov, Podebrady. 

The TUI Russia PR director Larisa Akhanova estimates sales of tours to the Czech Republic more optimistically. According to her observations, the demand grew by 15%. “Most tourists still choose the Czech Republic for weekend trips. For some travelers, the Czech Republic is often the first foreign destination in their lives.  

The growth in demand for combined tours is the trend of the season in the Czech Republic. So, if in the structure of sales of the PAC Group last year, these tours accounted for 7%, in 2019 these figure approaches 13% of the total sales of the destination. “The growth is due to the appearance of the Prague-Vienna-Budapest-Bratislava exclusive tour line,” says Larisa Akhanova.