The demand for sightseeing and medical tours to the Czech Republic has grown

Excursion tours to the Czech Republic are in demand for the November and New Year holidays, demonstrating a good depth of sales. According to tour operators, the demand for sightseeing and medical tours to the Czech Republic slowed down somewhat this autumn due to jumps of euro in August and September. "In the hope of strengthening the Russian currency, tourists are increasingly booking tour packages closer to the dates of the trip," the press service of Biblio-Globus tour operator said, stressing that the depth of sales of tours to the Czech Republic is "great and has already reached February 2019." The fact that the tours to the Czech Republic are sold with good depth is confirmed by other market participants. Thus, according to the observations of Anna Filatovskaya, PR-director of ICS Travel Group tour operator, on average, tours are booked in 6-7 months advance, and in general “sales are quite active”. According to PAC Group tour operator, the destination is booked at about the same level as last year, but the depth of sales is ahead of last year's figures. The fact that the Czech Republic is not only Prague, says Anna Filatovskaya. Today, the tour operator offers on the destination a variety of sightseeing tours with various lengths, including combinations with neighboring countries, as well as a health and medical tours. According to Ms. Filatovska, this season ICS Travel Group expanded the block of seats to Prague on scheduled flights of Czech Airlines, having increased the quota almost 4 times. “From December 26th, we will offer tours on the basis of regular flights of Ural Airlines from Zhukovsky airport. The flights will be departure 4 times a week - on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays with good slots,” sums up the top manager. According to the season, the excursion product is more popular, and most often tourists choose Prague. “Most excursion tours are booked with accommodation in Prague, with the rare exception, groups or individual tourists want to stay 1-2 nights in Cesky Krumlov. The trend for Prague is also noted by Biblio-Globus: for a sightseeing holiday for autumn dates, the tour operator offers the most sought-after tours - 3–7 nights in the Czech capital with accommodation at 3*–4* hotels. As for the balneological resorts, such as Karlovy Vary, Marianske Lazne and Františkovy Lázně, Teplice, Jáchymov, Podebrady, the demand for them is year-round. Most often, for medical and recreational holidays tourists choose tours lasting 10-14 nights on half-board and full-board basis. But the ski product in the Czech Republic is not yet in demand. As Maria Kharkova explains, ski tours to the Czech Republic still remain in the segment of individual tours and are not group-based. According to Vedi Tourgrupp tour operator, the minimum cost of a package tour for 3 nights for two persons is about 590 Euros. The cost of Biblio-Globus tours for autumn dates with an air flight to Prague, and accommodation in a 3* hotel on BB basis for 7 nights starts from 28,000 Rubles (373 Euros) per person, for New Year's dates 43,700 Rubles (582 Euros).